Australia
Two dead after attack in central Melbourne
A man who killed one person and injured two others in a stabbing attack in central Melbourne yesterday is reportedly dead after being shot by police.
The Herald Sun reported that the man had died and had links to convicted terror plotters.
It is also believed there were gas cylinders in a car that was set on fire in Bourke St, where the attack happened during rush hour.
According to ABC News, witnesses saw the man crash the car, get out and throw an object into it to set it alight.
Police shot the attacker in the chest when he confronted them. One of the three people he stabbed died at the scene.
Footage taken by witnesses showed police shooting the man after he threatened them with what appeared to be a knife.
Drew Hair told AAP that the assailant was dressed in Islamic clothing and of African appearance and about
193cm tall.
A witness told ABC News: “He seemed to be waving something. People around me screamed that he had a knife, but I couldn’t see clearly from where I was.
“And then I heard one loud bang. It sounded like a gunshot.”
Sarah Werkmeister, a witness, told the Herald Sun: “All I saw was the car on fire, and the police cuffing someone on the ground. People who’d seen it had told me they heard shots being fired, and everyone heard an explosion that was like the petrol exploding.”
The incident came as the trial began of James Gargasoulas, who is accused of killing six people on Bourke Street last year after allegedly deliberately ploughing through them with a car.
Gargasoulas, 28, who was in a drug-induced psychosis at the time, has pleaded not guilty.
The latest attack occurred about
4.30pm local time (6.30pm NZT), as streams of people were shopping and heading home.
A witness, who was taking a stroll during a break from work, told ABC News: “It is a very strange thing to witness on the streets you walk everyday . . . People were quite scared. They wanted to know what was going on. It is so strange to see a car on fire in the centre of the city.”
Another witness, Meegan May, said on Twitter: “Chaos in #bourkest as a guy seems to have set his car on fire then attacked police with a knife. Police response was swift and overwhelming. I heard at least one gunshot initially.”
The area around Bourke Street was cordoned off and a bomb squad was searching for explosives.
The attack forced authorities to stop trams running down Bourke Street and Swanston Street.
Police urged witnesses to provide them with mobile phone footage of the incident.