Melbourne Driver Rams Car Into Crowd: At Least 3 Dead, Several Injured

UPDATE: 12:34 a.m. EST — Police in Melbourne, Australia, shot the man who drove a car into pedestrians, killing three people, including a child, and injuring over 20 others. The non-terror-related incident occurred Friday in the central business district of the city.

According to the police statement, the driver is being treated for non-life threatening injuries. He allegedly also took a woman known to him hostage in the car, but she managed to escape.

Original story:

A man deliberately drove his car into pedestrians in the central business district of Melbourne, Australia, killing three people and injuring 20. The incident, which police said was not terror-related, took place Friday near Bourke and Queen streets, and the driver has been taken into custody.

Acting Commander Stuart Bateson from Victoria Police told a press conference they believed the incident followed an earlier stabbing in the city's southern metro region, with which the arrested man may be connected.

Bateson reportedly said: "We have the offender in custody. There is no further threat to the public at this stage. 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."

Of the 20 people, including four children, being treated by paramedics, a number of them had serious injuries, Ambulance Victoria said.

"It is going to take us a really long time to process this scene. Our priority at the moment is with the injured, and it must be that we give them our attention. We ask members of the public that perhaps witnessed the incident, if they've left the city, please log your details with Crime Stoppers," Bateson added.