Driver Plows Into Crowd in Melbourne

Major areas of Melbourne, Australia, were locked down Thursday night local time after a driver rammed into several people at a tram stop.

According to 9News.com.au, a white SUV plowed into a tram stop at Flinders Street between Elizabeth and Swanston streets during rush hour, injuring 19 people. 15 of those people are now in stable condition, while another four remain in critical condition. Two people have been arrested in connection with the incident.

The Australian reports that the northern entrances to Flinders Street Station were sealed as of Thursday night local time, with traffic diverted away from Flinders Street and Elizabeth Street.

According to ABC News, police believe the ramming to be a “deliberate act.” The do not believe, however that the incident was terrorism-related. The motive remains unclear at this time.

Flinders Street is a major street in Melbourne. It runs roughly parallel to the Yarra River. The tram stop where the incident took place is close to the Sea Life Melbourne Aquarium, town hall and St. Paul’s Cathedral.

While authorities do not believe this incident to be terrorism-related, other instances of people ramming their car into crowds of pedestrians have struck major cities around the world in recent years. New York suffered such an incident in early November, as well as Edmonton, Canada, in early October. In August, a terrorist drove into a crowd on Las Ramblas in Barcelona, followed shortly by a related attack in Cambrils, Spain. Earlier this summer, a terrorist drove into a crowd of people on London Bridge.

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