ONE person has been killed and several others injured in Melbourne, Australia after a knife-wielding man drove onto the pavement before being shot by police next to his burning vehicle.
Footage from the scene showed a man swinging a knife at two uniformed police officers shortly after 4.20pm local time (5:30am GMT) on Friday.
The suspect, dressed in a dark jacket and light-coloured trousers, was quickly shot by one of the officers - while a pickup truck could be seen in flames just yards away on Bourke Street, central Melbourne.
#Breaking video footage of man weilding knife at police being shot. #Bourke Street #Melbourne pic.twitter.com/uKO7gFEPcM
— Steve Bee 🎧 (@Stevie_Beee) 9 November 2018
Photographs taken nearby showed a white sheet covering a body, with a bare foot protruding.
Victoria Police said they "initially responded to a report of a car on fire" in the city centre at around 4.20pm local time, as people began to leave work for the weekend.
"A man was arrested at the scene and has been taken to hospital under police guard in a critical condition," the force said.
Bourke Street in Melbourne CBD remains closed following an incident.
Closures have been set up with no access from Swanston St to Exhibition St.
Russell St remains open to traffic.
Trams not operating on Swanston or Bourke St around closure.
Updates at @VicTraffic pic.twitter.com/YQahS9Z0kh
— Victoria Police (@VictoriaPolice) 9 November 2018
Superintendent David Clayton confirmed that "three people have been stabbed, unfortunately one of them is deceased at the scene".
He added: "There is no known links to terrorism at this stage but we will keep an open mind as to whether there is any link."
Ambulance Victoria said three people were being treated for injuries in relation to the incident.
"One person has been taken to hospital with a neck injury. They are in a suspected critical condition," they said.
Ambulance Victoria on Bourke Street - three injured: pic.twitter.com/zS6uZwIGYv
— Brett Mcleod (@Brett_McLeod) 9 November 2018
"A second person has been taken to hospital with a head injury. A third person has also been taken to hospital."
Locals have been warned to avoid the area, but police said they "are not looking for anyone further at this early stage".
"The exact circumstances are yet to be determined at this stage. The area has been cordoned off," they said.
Anyone who witnessed the event or captured footage at the scene has been urged to come forward by police to assist their investigation.
