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| Melbourne Stabbing Spree Leaves Two Dead, Including Attacker | Melbourne Stabbing Spree Leaves Two Dead, Including Attacker |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| MELBOURNE, Australia — A knife-wielding man was fatally shot by the police in Melbourne on Friday after he stabbed three people, killing one, in what the authorities described as a terrorist attack. | MELBOURNE, Australia — A knife-wielding man was fatally shot by the police in Melbourne on Friday after he stabbed three people, killing one, in what the authorities described as a terrorist attack. |
| Witnesses said the man emerged from a vehicle, which then burst into flames, shortly after 4 p.m. The police said there were gas cylinders in the vehicle. The man then began to attack pedestrians on Bourke Street, a busy shopping strip in Melbourne’s city center. | Witnesses said the man emerged from a vehicle, which then burst into flames, shortly after 4 p.m. The police said there were gas cylinders in the vehicle. The man then began to attack pedestrians on Bourke Street, a busy shopping strip in Melbourne’s city center. |
| When officers arrived at the scene, they were confronted with the man brandishing a bloody knife. A video of the confrontation, which circulated on social media, shows a civilian bystander trying to help the police by repeatedly pushing a shopping cart at the man. | When officers arrived at the scene, they were confronted with the man brandishing a bloody knife. A video of the confrontation, which circulated on social media, shows a civilian bystander trying to help the police by repeatedly pushing a shopping cart at the man. |
| “Someone screamed, ‘I think he has a knife,’ and I turned around and saw the car on fire,” said Meegan May, who was a passenger on a tram that passed the scene of the attack. | “Someone screamed, ‘I think he has a knife,’ and I turned around and saw the car on fire,” said Meegan May, who was a passenger on a tram that passed the scene of the attack. |
| Officers ultimately shot the man in the chest and arrested him. The man, whose identity has not been disclosed, was taken to a hospital, where he died about 30 minutes later, the police said. | Officers ultimately shot the man in the chest and arrested him. The man, whose identity has not been disclosed, was taken to a hospital, where he died about 30 minutes later, the police said. |
| “We are treating this as a terrorism incident,” Graham Ashton, chief commissioner of the Victoria Police, said at a news conference. He said the Somali-born man had been known to the police. | “We are treating this as a terrorism incident,” Graham Ashton, chief commissioner of the Victoria Police, said at a news conference. He said the Somali-born man had been known to the police. |
| The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack, according to the SITE Intelligence Group, which tracks the activity of extremist organizations online, although the group provided no evidence. | |
| The names and ages of the victims, who were all men, have not yet been released. | The names and ages of the victims, who were all men, have not yet been released. |
| Knives are the weapon most commonly used in homicides in Australia, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, a government agency. In 2015, the most recent year from which comprehensive data is available, 30 percent of all murders in Australia involved knives, as did 26 percent of attempted murders. | Knives are the weapon most commonly used in homicides in Australia, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, a government agency. In 2015, the most recent year from which comprehensive data is available, 30 percent of all murders in Australia involved knives, as did 26 percent of attempted murders. |
| The incident occurred less than two years after an attack on the same street, in which a man barreled his car into a crowd, killing six pedestrians and injuring at least 30 others. His trial is underway this week in the Victorian Supreme Court. | The incident occurred less than two years after an attack on the same street, in which a man barreled his car into a crowd, killing six pedestrians and injuring at least 30 others. His trial is underway this week in the Victorian Supreme Court. |
| “We will not as a city be defined by this act of evil,” Daniel Andrews, the premier of Victoria, said of the attack Friday. “We’ll go about our business this weekend and every weekend.” | “We will not as a city be defined by this act of evil,” Daniel Andrews, the premier of Victoria, said of the attack Friday. “We’ll go about our business this weekend and every weekend.” |