Car attack accused on bail for other offences
The man arrested over a wild car chase through Melbourne that killed four people, including a young child, and injured at least 31 was wanted over a stabbing in the city earlier that day and is currently the subject of multiple bail orders.
Among the four people killed in Melbourne were a man in his 30s, a woman in her 30s, and a young child.
Police confirmed the death of the fourth person but are not releasing the age and gender of the deceased until next of kin have been notified.
A 3-month-old baby girl who was taken to hospital by police is among six people with lifethreatening injuries. Three people are in a critical condition at the Royal Melbourne Hospital, and two are in a critical condition at The Alfred.
An additional 23 people are being treated for injuries in Melbourne hospitals, including some who went into shock after witnessing the incident.
Police sources say officers called off their pursuit of the man before his car entered the CBD about 1.30pm local time, fearing it was too dangerous to ram the vehicle.
The driver had earlier taken a female hostage, but she escaped on the Bolte Bridge.
The car was next seen performing burnouts at the intersection outside Flinders Street Station before ploughing through popular pedestrian precinct the Bourke Street Mall, and then west along Bourke St.
Police ended the chase by shooting the driver, who is injured but alive.
The arrested man had an extensive history of family violence, drug and mental health problems.
He had come to police attention because of several assaults in recent days, police said.
The suspect has been identified as Dimitrious ‘‘Jimmy’’ Gargasoulas, 26. He was bailed by a bail justice last weekend after he was arrested in St Kilda for a number of alleged offences, including family violence and stealing another car, sources said.
Gargasoulas was wanted over a stabbing that left a man in his 20s, believed to be his brother Angelo, in a critical condition in Melbourne’s south in the early hours of Friday.
Police were called to a property in the suburb of Windsor shortly after 2am after reports of two men fighting. A police spokesman said the men had left by the time police arrived.
‘‘A man in his 20s presented to a nearby hospital with stab wounds,’’ he said.
Following this incident, police say the suspect took a woman known to him hostage in his car.
Dozens of shaken witnesses have gathered at Melbourne West police station to provide statements. One woman, who did not want to be named, said she saw a mother who was pushing her baby in a pram struck by the car on the footpath.
‘‘The baby flew into the air,’’ she said. ‘‘The mother was lying on the ground covered in blood.
‘‘It was just horrible.’’