Pedestrians injured by SUV in Australia

SYDNEY — A sport utility vehicle driven by an Australian man of Afghan descent with a history of mental illness plowed into pedestrians in Melbourne on Thursday, leaving 19 people injured, four of them critically, officials said.

While the incident bore similarities to recent terrorist attacks in Europe and the United States, and police described the ramming as a “deliberate act,” authorities initially said there was no evidence of a terrorism link.

“We don’t have any intelligence or evidence to indicate there is a connection to terrorism,” said Shane Patton, the acting police commissioner of Victoria state, of which Melbourne is the capital.

This morning, however, Patton said the man had made several utterances while hospitalized under police guard Thursday night, including mentioning poor treatment of Muslims, and that police were still exploring terrorism as a possible motive.

“He spoke about dreams, he spoke about voices but he also did attribute some of his actions to the poor treatment of Muslims,” Patton told the Channel Nine television network today.

Asked if there were links to terrorism, he said: “That’s certainly one area we’re exploring in respect to motivation.”

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull also reiterated that “no terrorism link has been identified” but that “nothing should be ruled out.”

Witnesses said the white Suzuki SUV did not appear to brake as it plowed through one of the main intersections in Australia’s second-largest city, full of Christmas shoppers and commuters heading home. It finally crashed into a tram stop and came to a halt.

“All you could hear was bang, bang, bang, bang,” Jim Stoupas, the owner of a nearby doughnut shop, told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. “The only thing that slowed him down was hitting pedestrians. All you could hear were the sounds of the car hitting people and the screams.”

Seven of the 19 people initially admitted to the hospital were discharged overnight. Melbourne media reported that three patients remained in critical condition, including an 83-year-old man, and that a 4-year-old boy’s condition had improved from critical to stable.

Patton said nine foreign nationals were among the injured, including visitors from South Korea, China, Italy, India, Venezuela, Ireland and New Zealand.

A second man seen recording the incident on a cellphone was arrested after three knives were found in a bag he was carrying. But Patton said there appeared to be nothing linking the two men.

The driver, a 32-year-old Australian citizen of Afghan descent, according to authorities, was apprehended by an off-duty police sergeant who held him until police arrived, sustaining injuries in the struggle. The driver was hospitalized.

Turnbull said the man, whose name was not immediately released, had come to Australia as a refugee, “through normal refugee programs, not people smugglers.”

Police said the man had a history of drug use and mental health issues and was known to them for traffic offenses and a minor assault in 2010.