MELBOURNE: A car plowed into pedestrians on a popular shopping strip in the heart of Australia’s second-largest city on Friday, killing four people including a young child and injuring dozens more. Police said they were not considering the incident an act of terrorism.
“This individual is not related to any counter-terrorism or any terrorism-related activities,” said Graham Ashton, chief commissioner for the state of Victoria.
“He is not on our books as having any connection with terrorism and we are not regarding this as a terrorism-related incident.
“What we do know of the person is there is an extensive family violence history involved.”
“The prayers and heartfelt sympathies of all Australians are with the victims and the families of the victims of this shocking crime in Melbourne today,” Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said in a statement.
Police shot the 26-year-old male driver in the arm and arrested him.
Three people were killed at different locations on Bourke Street, a man and a woman in their 30s and a child whose age was not given for privacy reasons, Ashton said.
A fourth person was confirmed dead by police late Friday, but their age and gender were not released.
Fifteen others were hurt. Five were in a critical condition, including an infant, he added.
Moments before, passers-by had watched astonished as the driver gesticulated out the window and spun the maroon-colored saloon round a major intersection, blocking traffic.
The trail of violence took place barely a kilometer away from Melbourne Park where the world’s top tennis stars were playing the opening Grand Slam of the year in a city teeming with tourists.
The driver allegedly stabbed his brother in the suburb of Windsor six kilometers south of Bourke Street early on Friday, Ashton said.
Police had tried to intercept his car before it entered the city. He was seen driving erratically outside Melbourne’s main train station in the afternoon.
“We believe this male did some ‘doughnuts’ at Flinders Street and Swanston Street, turned left into the Bourke Street mall and deliberately drove into the crowd, continued along the footpath colliding with further pedestrians,” Police Acting Commander Stuart Bateson said.
The suspect was charged last weekend by police, Aston added, without giving further details.
“He has come to our attention on many occasions in the past. We have mental health and drug-related issues in the background of this particular person.
“He has been coming to our attention more recently over recent days in relation to assaults, family violence-related assaults.”
The Royal Children’s Hospital said it was treating three children aged three months, two years and nine years. A fourth child aged 13 was treated and discharged late Friday.
4 dead, 20 hurt as car rams Melbourne shoppers
4 dead, 20 hurt as car rams Melbourne shoppers
Winter storm snarls holiday travel across US Northeast, Great Lakes
- At least 1,500 flights were canceled from Friday night, according to flight-tracking service FlightAware
- On the other side of the country, California was experiencing a fairly dry weekend after powerful storms battered the state with heavy rains, flash flooding and mudslides
BOSTON: More than a thousand flights were canceled or delayed across the Northeast and Great Lakes regions due to snow as thousands took to roads and airports during the busy travel period between Christmas and New Year’s.
New York City received about 4 inches (10.2 centimeters) of snow Friday night into early Saturday — slightly under what some forecasts had predicted. At least 1,500 flights were canceled from Friday night, according to flight-tracking service FlightAware. But by the morning, both the roads and the skies were clearing.
“The storm is definitely winding down, a little bit of flurries across the Northeast this morning,” said Bob Oravec, a Maryland-based forecaster at the National Weather Service.
Oravec said the storm was moving from the northwest toward the Southeast, with the largest snowfall in the New York City area reaching over 6 inches (15 centimeters) in central eastern Long Island. Farther north in the Catskills, communities saw as much as 10 inches (25 centimeters).
Newark Liberty International, John F. Kennedy International and LaGuardia airports posted snow warnings on the social media platform X on Friday cautioning that weather conditions could cause flight disruptions.
The National Weather Service warned of hazardous travel conditions from the Great Lakes through the northern mid-Atlantic and southern New England, with the potential for tree damage and power outages.
In Times Square, workers in red jumpsuits worked to clear the sludge- and powder-coated streets and sidewalks using shovels and snowblowers.
Jennifer Yokley, who was there on a holiday trip from North Carolina, said she was excited to see snow accumulating as it dusted buildings, trees and signs throughout the city.
“I think it was absolutely beautiful,” she said.
Payton Baker and Kolby Gray, who were visiting from West Virginia, said the snow was a Christmas surprise for their third anniversary trip.
“Well, it’s very cold, and it was very unexpected,” Baker said, her breath visible in the winter air. “The city is working pretty well to get all the roads salted and everything, so it’s all right.”
Ahead of the storm, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul declared a state of emergency for more than half the state. Acting New Jersey Gov. Tahesha Way also declared a state of emergency for that state.
“This storm will cause dangerous road conditions and impact holiday travel,” Way said in a statement. “We are urging travelers to avoid travel during the storm and allow crews to tend to the roads. Drivers should plan their travel accordingly, monitor conditions and road closures, and follow all safety protocols.”
3 dead in California
On the other side of the country, California was experiencing a fairly dry weekend after powerful storms battered the state with heavy rains, flash flooding and mudslides. At least three people were killed.
Some mountainous areas received 10 to 18 inches (25 to 45 centimeters) of rain over three days, peaking on Christmas Eve, National Weather Service meteorologist Rose Schoenfeld said. There were varied amounts of rain in other populated areas, including up to 4 inches (10 centimeters) across the Los Angeles Basin and many coastal areas.
There was significant damage to homes and cars in Wrightwood, a 5,000-resident mountain town about 80 miles (130 kilometers) northeast of Los Angeles, as floods and mudslides turned roads into rivers and buried vehicles in rock and debris.
Before rain reappears in the forecast later next week, California was expected to experience Santa Ana winds with gusts of over 60 mph (96 kph) in mountainous areas from Sunday night through Tuesday. The winds could uproot saturated trees and cause power outages.
