The man arrested after filming a car ploughing through crowds outside Melbourne’s Flinders Street train station has been charged with weapons and drug offences.
Police have confirmed the man, 24, is not believed to have been involved in the carnage that injured 19 including the driver but they hope the footage he took will be useful to investigators.
Victoria Police’s acting Chief Commissioner Shane Patton said the man had now been charged with cannabis and weapons charges.
‘He ran, was grabbed, and arrested,’ Mr Patton told 3AW. ‘We don’t believe he was involved in this matter at all. His footage may be valuable.’
A man wearing jeans and a Nike T-shirt (pictured) was arrested on the steps at Flinders Street Station shortly after the incident
As a car ploughed through pedestrians at the busy Melbourne intersection on Thursday afternoon, the man whipped out his phone and began filming the carnage
As a car ploughed through pedestrians at the busy Melbourne intersection on Thursday afternoon, the man (pictured) whipped out his phone and began filming the carnage
Victoria Police’s acting Chief Commissioner Shane Patton said the man seen filming the Flinders St carnage had now been charged with cannabis and weapons charges.
As a car ploughed through pedestrians at the busy Melbourne intersection on Thursday afternoon, the man whipped out his phone and began filming the carnage.
Police spotted the 24-year-old just metres from where the white Suzuki Vitara crashed into a tram stop bollard next to Flinders Street Station about 4.40pm.
They searched him as a matter of procedure and allegedly found a bag containing three knives. Police found no evidence he had any involvement in the incident that injured 19 people including the 32-year-old driver.
Wearing jeans, runners and a Nike t-shirt, he was was arrested on the steps at Flinders Street station shortly after the incident, according to Nine News.
‘At a significant scene like this, he was taken into custody because of the circumstances so we can explore it,’ acting Chief Commissioner Shane Patton said on Thursday night.
‘It may well be that person is exonerated from any involvement in the end, and that is probable at this stage.’
The young man was not known to police and, like the alleged driver, had no known links to extremist organisations.
The alleged driver is an Australian citizen of Afghan descent who was wrestled from the car by an undercover police officer who was hurt in the altercation.
A 24-year-old man was arrested after he was seen filming a car plough through crowds near Melbourne’s Flinders Street train station and police allegedly found him carrying a bag with three knives
The alleged driver (pictured) is an Australian citizen of Afghan descent who was wrestled from the car by an undercover police officer who was hurt in the altercation
The white Suzki Vitara crashed into a tram stop bollard next to Flinders Street Station about 4.40pm on Thursday
The man had a history of abusing the drug ice, mental health issues, and a criminal history with a minor assault charge in 2010. He was under police guard in hospital for injuries suffered in the crash.
Victims of the rampage included a four-year-old boy with serious head injuries, but in a stable condition and four others still in critical condition.
Others were men aged 25, 40, 43, 45, and 83; two 25-year-old women, and other women aged 30, 35, 47, and 58 along with another three men and two women of unknown age.
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews said the ‘horrific act’ was targeted against ‘innocent bystanders’.
‘This is a terrible, evil, cowardly act… At a time of the year when so many families are celebrating the end of they year, doing their Christmas shopping … we have seen a horrific act,’ he said.
A man was seen talking to police near the scene soon after the car crashed into the tram stop bollard
Chaotic scenes unfolded during peak-hour as the white SUV crashed into the group of panicked pedestrians (pictured)
Paramedics at the scene were holding up tarps around the injured (pictured) who lay on the tram tracks of the busy street
Witness described seeing the car hurtling towards the crowd, ploughing through people in its path and crashing into the pole.
‘It just mowed everybody down, people were flying everywhere. We heard thump, thump. People are running everywhere,’ one told radio station 3AW:
Dramatic footage then showed a number of injured pedestrians being treated by passersby as they wait for paramedics.
‘He has gone straight through the red light at pace and it was bang, bang, bang. It was just one after the other,’ another told the Herald Sun.
‘There were bodies on the ground and people running up to them – it was mayhem.’
Victoria Police’s acting Chief Commissioner Shane Patton said the man seen filming the carnage (pictured in Nike T-shirt) had now been charged with cannabis and weapons charges.
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