Flinders St rampage accused Saeed Noori said ‘Allahu Akbar’: court
THE man accused of last year’s Flinders St rampage will stand trial after pleading not guilty to all charges. The court earlier heard he repeatedly said “Allahu Akbar” when an off-duty police officer tried to arrest him.
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A MAN accused of the deadly Flinders St car rampage last December researched global terror attacks before he drove through dozens of people yelling “Allahu Akbar”, a court has heard.
And he later told a police officer: “There were voices.”
Images of similar attacks in central London, Charlottesville in Virginia, and Barcelona in Spain were found on Saeed Noori’s computer, police claim.
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Court documents reveal that among his dossier of photos were images of the Twin Towers burning in New York on September 11, 2001, and of a Taliban execution.
Mr Noori, 33, faced Melbourne Magistrates’ Court over the alleged December 21 mowing down of pedestrians at the junction of Flinders and Elizabeth streets.
Northcote grandfather Antonios “Anton” Crocaris, 83, suffered critical head injuries and died nine days later. A four-year-old boy was among the dozens injured.
Mr Noori, from Heidelberg West, has pleaded not guilty to one count of murder, 15 counts of attempted murder and one count of reckless conduct endangering life. He has not been charged with any terrorism- related offences.
The Afghan man moved to Australia in 2004 and was granted citizenship in 2006.
The court Mr Noori used his mother’s Suzuki Vitara to accelerate through a red light, hitting pedestrians at up to 52kmh about 4.40pm.
“By driving at speed into those pedestrians, it’s the Crown’s case that he intended to kill those pedestrians,” prosecutor Mark Gibson SC said.
Sergeant Francis Adams of Victoria Police was off-duty when he heard the “thud, thud” of the car hitting people.
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He ran in, pounced on the driver and arrested him. He said later in a statement: “I made a decision to act quickly, as I thought this guy would start shooting or stabbing people.”
He also said he lifted the accused’s shirt to ensure he was not wearing a suicide vest packed with explosives.
Detective Senior Constable Simon Bray told the court Mr Noori had told him “I should be locked up” and “It was deliberate. There were voices”.
Mr Noori’s lawyer, Dermot Dann QC, said his client had been diagnosed with schizophrenia in 2014, and that his mental health would play a part in his defence.
Mr Noori will stand trial in the Supreme Court. He will face a directions hearing there on October 2.