Nine foreigners among Melbourne car attack injured
MELBOURNE: Am an whom owed down 18 pedestrians in Melbourne, half of them foreigners, said he carried out the attack to avenge “mistreatment of Muslims”, Australia said yesterday, while stressing it had still found no link to any terrorist group.
Three people remained critically ill in hospital after the Australian Afghan driver ploughed through a busy downtown intersection in his car on Thursday in what authorities said was a “deliberate act”.
The 32-year-old, who came to Australia as a refugee, has a history of drug abuse and mental problems and Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull reiterated that officials had established no terrorism link “at this stage”.
“To be attacked like this, in the middle of one of our great cities, is a shocking event, a shocking crime,” Turnbull said.
“He has said, in a number of what the police are describing as utterings, that he attributed his actions to perceived mistreatment of Muslims.
“But at this stage, because investigations are continuing, apart from that statement, there are no known links to any political issues, or any links to extremist groups, and I am advised at the moment that no terrorism link has been identified.”
But he added that ‘a mass of material’ was being investigated and ‘nothing should be ruled out’.
The man, who was wrestled from the car by an off-duty police officer, was due to undergo a psychiatric assessment and is yet to be formally interviewed.
He was widely identified in the Australian media as Saeed Noori.
Police said nine foreign nationals were among those hurt, including three South Koreans. Two of them — men aged in their 60s — are among the critically hurt.
Police said the other overseas victims came from China, Italy, India, Venezuela, Ireland, and New Zealand, with the city full of tourists for the festive season.
Turnbull assured Australians Thursday’s carnage was an isolated incident and “we should continue to go about our daily lives in the way we always do”.
“We should always be cautious, but we’re not going to be cowed or intimidated by cowardly acts of individuals who seek to do us harm in public spaces, like this,” he said.
Melbourne began returning to normal on Friday, with roads reopened. — AFP