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An accused killer driver has been charged with murder and attempted murder after allegedly killing an elderly driver and injuring several others while driving through a crowd of pedestrians in Melbourne’s CBD.
Zain Khan, 26, has been charged with one count of murder, three counts of attempted murder, three counts of causing grievous bodily harm with intent and two counts of driving endangering life following the Bourke Street chaos which took place on Friday.
He allegedly drove his mother’s white Toyota sedan through a tram stop and into a crowd of pedestrians before colliding with two other vehicles around 6:20 p.m.
Victoria Police charged Khan accelerated the car after allegedly mowing down three pedestrians at a tram stop on the corner of Bourke and Swanston streets.
A 76-year-old Brunswick man driving a Hyandi died at the scene.
Two people traveling in a gray Mazda, aged 30 and 37 and both from Diggers Rest, were taken to hospital with minor injuries.
Three pedestrians – a 26-year-old man from South Yarra, a 23-year-old woman from China and a 35-year-old woman from Docklands – were also injured.
Eerie footage shows Khan, dressed in white, sitting on the roof of the Toyota for several minutes before police take him down and arrest him.
Zain Khan, 26, has been charged with one count of murder, three counts of attempted murder, three counts of causing grievous bodily harm with intent and two counts of driving endangering life following the Bourke Street chaos which took place on Friday.
Eerie footage shows Khan, dressed in white, sitting on the roof of the Toyota for several minutes before officers pull him down and arrest him (pictured).
Khan allegedly drove his mother’s white Toyota sedan through a tram stop and into a crowd of pedestrians before colliding with two other vehicles around 6:20 p.m.
Victoria Police alleged Khan accelerated the car after allegedly mowing down three pedestrians at a tram stop on the corner of Bourke and Swanston streets.
His comments made in the minutes after the three-car collision were allegedly recorded on their body-worn cameras.
Chief Commissioner Shane Patton said the footage would be important in determining whether his actions while driving were deliberate.
Khan was held under police guard at the Royal Melbourne Hospital, where police delayed his interview for at least 24 hours due to mental health concerns.
At an out-of-hours hearing on Saturday evening, the 26-year-old was remanded in custody to appear before Mr.Elbourne Magistrates’ Court on January 15, 2024.
Police confirmed Khan had a history of mental illness and ruled out terrorism as a potential motive.
The white Toyota Aurion at the center of the tragedy belonged to his mother, according to Commissioner Patton.
He said no cases of unpredictable conduct by Khan had been reported before the incident and confirmed he had no criminal record.
“He has no criminal history. He is not out on bail. “It’s actually a ‘cleanskin’, a term used by Victoria Police to refer to someone who has not been involved with policing,” he said.
“The only record we have of this man is that he was previously a missing person and in 2020 we had some involvement with him for a mental health transfer.”
Commissioner Patton said it would likely bring back memories of a strikingly similar incident on Bourke Street in 2017, where six people were killed.
“We will be holding reassurance patrols around the city today, to make sure the public can feel reassured. Melbourne is an extremely safe city,” he said.
It comes as Khan’s mother revealed her son had struggled with his mental health since 2017 and had gone on a shopping spree before the incident.
“He is very sad…he is sick. He has a mental history, a mental illness issue dating back to 2017,” she told 7News.
‘It’s hard. I thought, you know, what he did, I heard he hurt people, I was shocked by that part.
In footage from the scene, people can be heard screaming while others provide first aid to the injured as police, paramedics and firefighters arrive en masse.
The incident happened on the corner of Bourke and Russell Street on Friday evening.
Victoria Police alleged Khan accelerated the car after allegedly mowing down three pedestrians at a tram stop on the corner of Bourke and Swanston streets.
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews expressed his gratitude to bystanders who came to the aid of injured drivers, passengers and pedestrians.
Graphic videos taken at the scene Friday show pedestrians frantically tending to two people outside a McDonald’s after they were hit.
People can be heard screaming while others provide first aid to the injured as police, paramedics and firefighters swarm the scene.
Bourke Street remained closed on Friday evening until tow trucks could remove damaged cars from the scene.
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews expressed his gratitude to bystanders who came to the aid of injured drivers, passengers and pedestrians.
“I wanted, on behalf of all Victorians, to thank the police officers who very quickly and with great courage did the most important job in terms of securing the scene and taking the suspect into custody,” Mr M said on Saturday. Andrews.
“And finally, may I thank the many, many Victorians who were at the scene and who stayed and extended the hand of friendship and love to support and help those (injured).”
Six people died and 27 were injured when James Gargasoulas crashed into them after driving through the Bourke Street shopping center in 2017, although Friday night’s crash is not believed to be linked to that incident.