SYDNEY —
A man with a history of mental health and drug abuse issues drove into a street crowded with pedestrians in Australia’s second-largest city on Friday, killing at least four people, including a child, and injuring around 15 others, police said.
The chaos began in the early afternoon, after a man was seen driving in erratic circles in the middle of a major intersection in downtown Melbourne. The driver then turned onto the Bourke Street Mall, a pedestrian-only road, deliberately mowing people down before continuing onto a sidewalk and hitting several others, Victoria state Police Acting Commander Stuart Bateson said.
Police shot the driver and arrested him at the scene. The 26-year-old man was being treated at a hospital for non-life threatening injuries, police said. Officials have not released his name and said there is no further threat to the public.
The incident comes amid global concern over extremists using vehicles to strike crowds, following truck attacks in Berlin and Nice, France last year. Police Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton said the Melbourne incident had no links to terrorism.
The driver has a history of mental health and drug abuse issues, and has an extensive record of domestic violence, Ashton told reporters.
