Melbourne crash: Driver blames 'mistreatment of Muslims', 'spoke of voices and dreams'

No link to terrorism has been found so far as investigation continues on Thursday’s Melbourne crash. The man who crashed his car into pedestrians has blamed "the mistreatment of Muslims" for "some of his activities,” police have said.

The 32-year-old man who supposedly crashed his car into people outside Flinders Street train station was an Australian of Afghan descent. The incident left 19 people injured, including a four-year-old boy and an elderly man, who was reportedly in critical condition.

On ABC's News Breakfast, Victoria Police Acting Chief Commissioner Shane Patton said that investigators had a chance to have preliminary discussions with the driver, who was undergoing psychiatric assessment. What motivated the man to drive his vehicle through a busy crossing is unknown, but he spoke of "voices and dreams" and attributed his activities to the mistreatment of Muslims during the discussions.

The driver, Patton said, was on a mental health plan. He missed an appointment with his doctor when the crash took place. The man is in the hospital where he is in custody and will be formally interviewed on Friday.

According to witnesses, there were loud bangs as the car ploughed into pedestrians and people were "thrown into the air.” The car, a white Suzuki SUV, then crashed into a tram station.

Some search warrants were executed on Thursday night (local time), but no links to terrorism have been reported. This was confirmed by Patton. "We haven't ruled anything in or out and our counter-terrorism command continues to obviously assist Crime Command in this investigation." A 24-year-old man was also arrested, but police do not believe he had something to do with the attack, The Age reports.

Police commander Russell Barrett did not rule out terrorism as a potential motive for the crash."We believe based on what we've seen it is a deliberate act," he said, adding it was too early to discuss motivation. Authorities reportedly said there is no increased threat to the public.

Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has spoken about the Melbourne crash, calling it a shocking event. He added that nine of those injured were from overseas.

The Aussie leader assured that Australia’s consular officials are working to contact their families and ensure they have knowledge of what happened to their loved ones. The driver, Turnbull said, came here as a refugee through normal programs, not with a people smuggler.