A man has been arrested after setting himself alight and driving a fuel-soaked car into a western Sydney police station.
Officers spotted the man in his 60s parked in the driveway of the Merrylands Police Station about 7pm on Thursday.
As they approached the vehicle, he ignited the inside of his car with some sort of fuel and rammed into the roller door of the underground car park, Assistant Commissioner Denis Clifford said.
Officers extinguished the blaze and dragged the man unconscious from the vehicle and into custody about an hour later, Mr Clifford said.
The man has been taken to Royal North Shore Hospital suffering "very serious burns".
He has not yet been formally identified.
Investigators still don't know the man's motive but say there's nothing to indicate it was related to terrorism.
"We just don't know why this person has acted in this way," Mr Clifford told reporters at the scene.
"There's nothing to indicate this is in any way related to terrorism - we'll keep an open mind but we're not leaning that way at this stage.
"There's nothing to indicate that he is linked to anyone else, but again that will form part of our inquiry."
A large exclusion zone was established as bomb squad officers examined the man's vehicle.
It's believed the man's vehicle contained a number of gas cylinders.
While no police officers or members of the public were injured during the incident, Mr Clifford said he could understand the concerns of local residents.
"It's a busy area. It was late night shopping. There were a lot of people around," he said.
Mr Clifford urged witnesses to come forward.
"Particularly if there's any mobile phone footage, as is often the case these days, that may assist us to start to put some pieces together," he said.
Merrylands has been on high alert after several terror-related incidents and raids in the past two years.
Officers cleared the white car used in the attack as it sat empty in the car park with smashed windows and a gas cylinder nearby.
One local man, who didn't wish to be named, told reporters it was lucky no one was injured in the busy thoroughfare.
"I go a hundred times a day through that street," he said.
He said he didn't feel safe living in the area anymore and had installed cameras around his home.
One member of the public who was gathered with media at the end of the station's street said he was there to watch the police press conference, and maybe catch Pokemon nearby.
"There's a Pokestop here, I wonder what's around," he said.
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