While police say what unfolded at one of Melbourne's busiest intersections adjacent to Flinders Street Station was a deliberate attack, they are yet to determine a motive.
A total of 19 people were hospitalised, including a four-year-old boy, after a sport utility vehicle (SUV) struck pedestrians just as yesterday's afternoon peak hour was getting underway.
Socrates Nicolaidis, who manages Walker's Doughnuts on the corner of Flinders and Elizabeth Streets, says he could not sleep after witnessing the aftermath.
"We heard some noise, and, as we turned, we saw the SUV van going like a hundred miles an hour, and, as it crossed over the intersection here, it just started knocking people. People got pushed flying into the air. And then the car veered off to the left. It hit the tram stop, the pole. It just stopped suddenly. Within a couple of seconds, people were just on the ground, covering themselves. It was horrible."
An off-duty police officer arrested the driver.
The Police Association's Wayne Gatt has praised the officer's actions, as well as the overall police response.
"He's clearly put service above self. Our members do that every day of the week. But, you know, more broadly, up to 70 members who attended that scene and hundreds of others who've been involved in the investigations -- and will be for the coming days -- will put themselves above ... will put the community above themselves, in terms of their response and their actions. It's brave, it's courageous, but that's truly a feature of all of our members who were there."
Socrates Nicolaidis says some bystanders were angry as well as shaken.
"Everybody that was around the area was really angry. I saw people running up to the van. Some people were screaming there could be a bomb in there. You don't know. But just hearing what people are saying. You know, I'm sure, in a different situation, some of these people would have had their hands around this person's neck."
Among the injured is 45 year old Rohit Kaul, who was speaking to his son on the mobile phone when the rampage took place – with the family in their Melbourne home alerted instantly to what had taken place.
Mr Kaul has undergone surgery at Melbourne’s Alfred Hospital today and said to be stable and recovering.
Acting chief police commissioner Shane Patton says the driver of the SUV was known to police but was not on bail nor under any Corrections orders.
"This is a man who has mental-health issues. He's on a mental-health plan and actually missed an appointment yesterday. He has a history of drug use. But, nonetheless, we completely explore everything that's been raised. We've executed a number of warrants overnight as well. We continue to explore a whole range of issues. We haven't yet identified any linkages between him, extremism, any extremist groups or anything to do with terrorism at this time, so the investigation is very much ongoing."
A second man, who was filming the scene, was arrested after he was found with a bag containing knives, but police now say he was not connected with the attack.
Acting Commissioner Patton says police officers had a preliminary discussion with the driver, who is reported to have uttered references to the mistreatment of Muslims.
"The 32-year-old male who's in hospital, investigators were able to have a preliminary conversation with him. He hasn't been formally interviewed. But during that conversation, he made what I can best describe as utterances in respect to a range of things, about hearing voices, about dreams, but also attributing his actions to perceived mistreatment of Muslims."
Muslim youths from the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community of Victoria gathered outside Flinders Street Station to condemn what they called a senseless act of violence.
They unfurled a banner reading Love For All, Hatred for None.
The group's Soofi Aziz says, no matter how police choose to characterise what happened, he regards it as an "act of terror."
"Regardless what is mentioned by the police, whatever statement, we're still there to condemn any act of violence, any act of terror. It is an act of terror. People are terrified, I was terrified, my group was terrified, so we decided to show our support."
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull is encouraging Australians not to let what happened deter them from their day-to-day activities, though.
"This is a terrible attack, a shocking incident to occur just on the eve of Christmas, but we will not be cowered by it, we will not be intimidated by it. We'll continue to go about our lives in our normal way, enjoying our cities, enjoying our public spaces, doing our Christmas shopping and enjoying the peace and the love and the time with family and friends that this wonderful season brings."
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