iStock/Thinkstock(MELBOURNE, Australia) — Police have apprehended a man they say deliberately drove into a crowd of pedestrians in one of Australia’s largest cities, killing three people and injuring at least 20.
“There is no further danger to the public,” Victoria Police Acting Commander Stuart Bateson said in a statement on Friday. “We do not believe this is ‘counter-terror’ related.”
The man drove a vehicle through “a number of pedestrians” on Bourke Street Mall in downtown Melbourne at just before 2 p.m. Friday local time, the Victoria Police Department said on Twitter. The exact circumstances surrounding the incident have yet to be determined, but police believe that it may be connected to an earlier stabbing.
The Australian Open tennis championship, which is currently being held in the city, was not affected, police said.
The area has been closed off amid the ongoing investigation.
Update: Pedestrian access has been closed on Bourke Street between William and Swanston Streets.
— Victoria Police (@VictoriaPolice) January 20, 2017
Our prayers and deepest sympathy are with the victims & their families, of this vicious criminal attack in Bourke St Melbourne today.
— Malcolm Turnbull (@TurnbullMalcolm) January 20, 2017
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