Flinders Street crash: Turnbull calls it a 'despicable and cowardly act'

Melbourne : Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull termed the Flinders Street crash as a 'despicable and cowardly act'; he also ruled out any terrorism link with the incident.

A 32-year-old man, Australian citizen from Afghan descent, crashed his white SUV into pedestrians at Melbourne’s busiest intersection outside Flinders Street station.

Mr. PM addresses reporters to reveal details about the incident. He said, “He came to Australia as a refugee.”

Turnbull added, “He has a history of serious mental illness and drug abuse. I emphasise, at this stage, because investigations are continuing ... there are no known links to any political issues or any links to extremist groups. I want to stress, there is a mass of material that is being investigated and nothing should be ruled out.

“Whatever the motivation, this was a despicable and cowardly act, but I want to reassure all Australians that this is an isolated incident. We should continue to go about our daily lives in the way we always do, and that means spending time together with family and friends in public spaces, on the streets of our cities, at sporting stadiums, in parks, going out, doing our Christmas shopping, that is a fundamental part of our lives.”

Nearly, 19 people were left injured in the incident. And the driver has been nabbed by the cops.

A 24-year-old man arrested at the scene after he was seen filming the crash and found to be in possession of knives was interviewed by police on Thursday night before being released.