Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull called a vehicle attack that injured 19 people at an intersection in downtown Melbourne on Thursday a "shocking crime," that was nonetheless only an "isolated incident."
The alleged driver, 32-year-old Saeed Noori, is an Australian citizen of Afghan descent. He was arrested at the scene after allegedly driving an SUV through a crowd of holiday shoppers in the southern Australian city.
So far, the suspect has "no known links to any political issues, or any links to extremist groups," Turnbull said, though he added, "nothing should be ruled out."
Noori was released from a hospital Thursday afternoon and was taken into custody. A senior police officer said he had "attributed his actions to perceived mistreatment of Muslims" but also spoke of "dreams and voices."
A second man briefly detained after the attack was later determined not to be involved. "He had in a bag three knives, and he was taken into custody to determine whether he was in fact connected with the incident," Acting Police Commissioner Shane Patton told reporters.
However, after looking at video of the incident, police determined the driver was acting alone, according to The Sydney Morning Herald.
Accused Flinders St driver has been driven in to the custody centre and is expected to be interviewed shortly @7NewsMelbourne pic.twitter.com/gPfZzLEhjP
— Jodi Lee (@jodilee_7) December 22, 2017
Video just in: Accused Flinders Street attacker Saeed Noori in police custody after being released from hospital. Latest on 7 News at 6.00pm #7News pic.twitter.com/2MOUkvMU6p
— 7NEWS Melbourne (@7NewsMelbourne) December 22, 2017
Turnbull said nearly half of the 19 people injured in Thursday's attack were foreign nationals.
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