At least 19 people were injured on Thursday when a car plowed into a group of pedestrians in the center of Melbourne, Australia, the Victoria ambulance service tweeted.
"We could hear this noise, as we looked left, we saw this white car, it just mowed everybody down," a witness, Sue, told Melbourne radio station 3AW.
"People are flying everywhere. We heard thump, thump. People are running everywhere," she added.
The suspected perpetrator of the car ramming incident in Australia’s Melbourne is known to Victoria police and has mental health issues as well as history of drug use, the police said Thursday.
"At this stage we believe it is a deliberate act however we do not know the motivation," Australia’s Victoria Police said.
"We don’t at this time have any evidence or any intelligence to indicate there’s a connection with terrorism … Having said that, however, continue to support this investigation with our counterterrorism command," a police official said.
According to Sky News, the victims included a preschool-aged child. The car did not stop at an intersection and ignored a red light, knocking down several people.
Paramedics have now transported 13 people to city hospitals. Two more people are being assessed by paramedics at the scene.
— Ambulance Victoria (@AmbulanceVic) 21 декабря 2017 г.
Up to 13 ppl in hospital, incl. a young child with head injuries. Car struck pedestrians at corner of Elizabeth & Flinders St in Melbourne CBD just before 5pm. Police / paramedics are said to have arrived within a minute. @SBSNews pic.twitter.com/ruM7sFf2TZ
— Manny Tsigas (@mantsig) 21 декабря 2017 г.
#BREAKING: HORROR in Melbourne, Australia, after a car ploughed into crowd. Many injured. DEVELOPING… pic.twitter.com/yc8Mmy9TKI
— ST News (@stnewsfr) 21 декабря 2017 г.
"The police officers are at the scene on Flinders Street… where the car knocked down several pedestrians. The police detained the driver of the car," the state police reported on their official website.
My brother was walking up the steps to Elizabeth St from the station subway as the Melbourne CBD thing happened. He's very shaky, and furious/disgusted at all the people he saw who were filming injured people on their phones.
— Katie Purvis (@katiemelb) 21 декабря 2017 г.
"The driver of the vehicle and a second man have been arrested and are in police custody," the police said in a statement.
READ MORE: Foiled Australian Terrorists Planned Chemical Attack as Well as Plane Bombing
Video of driver being arrested after mowing down pedestrians in Melbourne, Australia. Up to 12 people reportedly injured. pic.twitter.com/ElLe43ctWN
— PM Breaking News (@PMBreakingNews) 21 декабря 2017 г.
Law enforcements asked eyewitnesses to help in the investigation by sending photos and videos of the incident.
