Police in Melbourne, Australia arrested a driver Thursday who allegedly drove a vehicle into a crowd of pedestrians on a popular street in the city's central district.
Early reports indicate at least 15 people were injured on Flinders Street, including a small child reportedly with head trauma.
"Paramedics have now transported 13 people to city hospitals. Two more people are being assessed by paramedics at the scene," Ambulance Victoria said in a tweet.
"Police have saturated the CBD area in the vicinity of Flinders, Elizabeth and Swanston streets to ensure community safety," Victoria Police spokeswoman Creina O'Grady said, according to the Sydney Morning Herald. "A number of people are being treated at the scene for a range of injuries."
Witnesses described a chaotic and violent scene at the time of the incident.
"As [the car] approached this intersection here...it just mowed everybody down, people were flying everywhere," a witness told 3AW Melbourne.
"There was no braking, there was no slowing down. He went straight through the intersection. So whether it was targeted or whether he's had [a] heart attack, or was drunk, I don't know," said a witness named Jim, who owns a bakery on Flinders Street. "He probably hit about 15 to 20 pedestrians. The car stopped because of just, I think, the amount of pedestrians that it had hit...All you could hear was, 'Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang.'"
The identity of the suspect has not yet been released.
Police believe the act was deliberate, according to The Guardian.
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This article has been adapted from its original source.
