‘Deliberate’ car ramming injures 14 people in Australia

FAN Editor

More than a dozen people were injured — several of them critically — after a vehicle plowed into pedestrians in what police called a “deliberate act” Thursday afternoon in the central business district of Melbourne, Australia, as holiday shoppers lined the streets.

The driver, who was not immediately identified, was arrested. A second person was also arrested, according to Victoria Police. They have not yet been charged, police said.

Authorities said the incident, which occurred just after 4:30 p.m. local time, was a “deliberate act,” but repeatedly said they do not yet know the motivation, including whether it was terror-related.

Police said 14 people were injured in the ramming, saying “several” were in critical condition and some were stable. 9News in Australia reported a 4-year-old girl was taken to the hospital with a serious head injury.

Based on video footage from the scene, the vehicle used in the ramming was a white Suzuki SUV.

Paul Calahane, a native of Ireland who said he’d been in Melbourne for seven weeks, was coming home from work when the incident unfolded behind him.

“I heard a bit of a bang behind me, even though I had my headphones in with a bit of audio,” Calahane told ABC News. “I leaned forward, thinking it was a blast, then I saw people running. I saw people just scattered on the road. … There were people running, screaming, thinking it was a bomb.”

Calahane said he then turned to see the white SUV across the street, which had plowed into a light pole. He said a man was pulled out the vehicle and arrested.

“Within a minute there was about 40, 50 people on the scene,” he said. “They were really pushing people back from the scene.”

The owner of a bakery across the street, named Jim, told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation he saw many people hit.

“He came to rest just next to the tram stop — maybe the side of the tram stop stopped him — but the only thing that seemed to be slowing him down was the amount of pedestrians he had hit,” the man said.

“All you could hear was just ‘bang bang bang bang bang.'”

Police said at a Thursday evening press conference security would be stepped up in the area, and that the investigation scene would be in place for a considerable amount of time.

“Police are currently attending an incident on Flinders Street between Elizabeth and Swanston streets where a vehicle has collided with a number of pedestrians,” Victoria Police initially tweeted around 5 p.m. local time. “Police have arrested the driver of the car. Extent of injuries are not known at this stage.”

Police said “a number of people were treated at the scene for a range of injuries and have been transported to hospital.”

Transit authorities notified riders that routes through the area were being altered.

Six people were killed in a similar incident in Melbourne in January. The driver plowed into crowded Bourke Street, just a few blocks north of Flinders Street, where Thursday’s ramming occurred. He was charged with six counts of murder and has pleaded not guilty. Officials did not charge the man with terrorism offenses and his lawyer said he has mental health issues, according to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

This story is developing. Please check back for updates.

ABC News’ Matt Foster, Rex Sakamoto and Briana Montalvo contributed to this report.

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