Three assassinations stabbed and one dead in Australia in police incident: NPR

Australian police on Friday slaughtered an armed assailant with a knife that stabbed three people and killed another in an occupied part of Melbourne.

ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack and the authorities said it was investigating the terrorist act.

Witnesses told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation that a four-speed utility truck was spinning in Bourke Street, in the central business district of the southern city of Australia, and had crashed after having missed a tram.

A fire later broke out in the vehicle, according to Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton, who spoke at a press conference.

The Australian media identified the deceased suspect as a 31-year-old Somali man. Authorities say that he got out of the vehicle on fire and began stabbing passersby.

Witnesses described the stabbings "at random," reports ABC.

The video of the incident, which some readers might find disturbing, can be viewed right here.

The police quickly arrived at the scene, said Ashton. The suspect approached a police vehicle and assaulted a police officer by hitting him through the window.

Two policemen got out of the car and tried to attack him. In the video of the incident, the suspect approached the police officers by showing a large knife, repeatedly attempting to stab them before a police officer shot him in the chest. The suspect has collapsed.

Ashton said the three victims, all men, and the suspect had been transported to the Royal Melbourne Hospital. One of the victims died as a result of her injuries.

According to the police, the other two victims, aged 26 to 58, were injured to death.

The suspect died as a result of his injuries half an hour after arriving at the hospital.

Police found "barbecue style" gas bottles in the vehicle involved in Friday's incident. A demining team has since made the car safe.

"Whoever executed the knife – stabbing operation in Melbourne (..) is one of the fighters of the Islamic State and he has executed the. operation in response to (a call) aimed at targeting the citizens of the coalition ", according to the ISIS information website. Amaq said Friday, according to news.com.au.

In the past, the Islamic State claimed some attacks from the "lone wolf" during which the assailant subsequently proved that he had no allegiance to the group .

The suspect has been "known to the police mainly regarding his relatives who are certainly people of interest to us," Ashton said.

"For operational matters, we now have the command of the fight against terrorism and the homicide brigade responsible for this case, and investigations are underway within the command of the fight against terrorism," he said.

The authorities claim that they perceive no permanent threat.

A driver who struck pedestrians at a mall near the Friday incident killed at least four people in January of last year. In December, another driver in Melbourne claimed more casualties, leaving at least 19 injured.

In a series of tweets, Daniel Andrews, Prime Minister of the State of Victoria, described the incident as "an act of terror that struck the heart of our city, in a place where the wounds from the past are not yet healed. "

"To the victims and their loved ones, we offer our prayers, our support and our deepest condolences.We will not be defined by this perverse act.The Victorians will continue to go about their business, together and with determination," wrote Andrews.