A DRIVER arrested after a car was driven into pedestrians in Melbourne was a 32-year-old Australian of Afghan descent with a history of drug use and mental health problems, police have said.
Victoria Police chief Shane Patton said a second man, aged 24, who was arrested after he was seen filming the incident was found to have a bag containing knives.
Investigators have found no evidence to suggest a link with terrorism and Patton said they had not established any relationship between the two men.
Some 19 people were injured, four critically, when a white car was driven “in a deliberate” act at crowds outside Flinders Street station at around 4.30pm on Thursday.
The driver of the car was detained by an off-duty police officer, who was later taken to hospital with injuries not believed to be critical.
Patton told a press conference the driver had resisted arrest and there had been “somewhat of a fight between them”.
He added: “We have reviewed the footage and are satisfied that he was driving the car without anyone else present.
“He has be taken to hospital as a result of the incident, as has the police officer.
“We do not at this time have any intelligence to indicate that there is a connection to terrorism.”
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