Three people have been confirmed dead and as many as 20 injured after a man deliberately drove into a crowded street in Melbourne’s CBD.
It is believed the man who has been arrested was connected to a stabbing in the city’s southern metro region earlier on the day.
“We have the offender in custody. There is no further threat to the public at this stage,” Acting Commander Stuart Bateson from Victoria Police told media.
“What I can confirm is a male deliberately drove into pedestrians. We can confirm there are three deceased and at least 20 injured. We believe it was connected to an earlier stabbing.
Commander Bateson said the incident was not terror related but has urged people to avoid the city while police process the scene.
“It is going to take us a really long time to process this scene. Our priority at the moment is with the injured, and it must be that we give them our attention,” he said.
“We ask members of the public that perhaps witnessed the incident, if they’ve left the city, please log your details with Crime Stoppers.”
One woman named Renee has told News.com.au that she heard a “loud thud” as three people were hit right in front of her eyes.
“I saw the car on the footpath and I saw the people out of the corner of my eye fly in the air. There were three or four contorted bodies on the ground.
“There was a girl standing right in front, the car had missed her. She looked around, saw the bodies, looked down the street, then just started screaming.”
Another witness, named Hank Kerr, told The Guardian he saw “people flying everywhere”.
“We saw this car on the footpath,” he recalled. “There were people jumping out of the way and people being hit. All we could see is the car and carnage. It was shocking to see.”
