Flinders St rampage: Accused rampage driver Saeed Noori charged

ACCUSED Flinders St attacker Saeed Noori has faced a Melbourne court charged with 18 counts of attempted murder, making no application for bail as his mother shook and rocked back and forth during the hearing.

THE man accused of the horrific Flinders St car rampage has faced a Melbourne court charged with 18 counts of attempted murder.

Detectives allege Saeed Noori, 32, deliberately mowed down pedestrians “with the intention of killing or causing injury to as many people as possible” during peak hour on Thursday. The alleged attack has sent shockwaves through a city still reeling from the devastation of the Bourke St massacre, as three people remain fighting for life. In an emotion-charged scene at Melbourne Magistrates’ Court this afternoon, Mr Noori faced his mother, who burst into tears and rocked back and forth as the accusations against her son were read out. TEEN TELLS DAD HE ‘NEARLY DIED’ IN FLINDERS ST ATTACK WHAT WE KNOW SO FAR ABOUT FLINDERS ST INCIDENT OFF-DUTY COP HAILED A HERO FOR TACKLING DRIVER AS IT HAPPENED: PEDESTRIANS HIT IN FLINDERS ST RAMPAGE PATRICK CARLYON: REMAINS OF PREVIOUS DAY’S VIOLENCE SWEPT AWAY 24 HOURS ON The Homicide Squad charged Mr Noori today after he was released from hospital. He faces 18 separate counts of attempted murder and one count of conduct endangering life. Mr Noori’s mother took photos on her phone of her son, the accused, as he was brought into the docks. Dressed in a grey tshirt and black pants, the scruffy bearded Mr Noori hung his head and put his face in his hands as his mother burst into tears. Moments after the Flinders St rampage She was assisted back to her seat by court staff after attempting to approach the dock to be closer to her son and was asked by the Magistrate to turn off her phone. The mother shook and rocked back and forth in her chair during the brief hearing, for which she had waited all day at the court. The accused made no application for bail. Magistrate Bob Kumar noted bail would have been opposed anyway because of the “serious nature” of the accusations. The court heard Mr Noori was suffering mentally and physically. He was predominantly silent during the court appearance and appeared slow and sleepy, rubbing his eyes and staring down for much of the hearing. Mr Kumar ordered that the accused be assessed by a psychiatrist and assisted by custody nurses before he reappears on 27 December. WITNESSES DESCRIBE CHAOS: ‘IT WAS BANG, BANG, BANG’ FLINDERS ST ATTACK: TEEN VICTIM SIDESWIPED BY ATTACKER RITA PANAHI: POLICE PLAYING POLITICS OVER FLINDERS ST ATTACK PATRICK CARLYON: ANOTHER ACT OF EVIL ON OUR STREETS His court appearance comes following the revelation he allegedly rambled about Allah and the nation’s top security agency after mowing down 18 people. Acting Chief Commissioner Shane Patton has revealed that Noori made the comments from his hospital bed in the hours after his alleged rampage which left three people on Saturday afternoon fighting for life. “I think there was something, and I don’t know the exact detail, to do with Allah and some ramblings about ASIO (the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation,” Mr Patton said. Saeed Noori was transported to Melbourne West Police Station today, where he was formally interviewed by detectives. It had earlier been alleged that Noori mentioned the mistreatment of Muslims as a factor behind the horrific attack, during the hospital discussion with police. Noori, 32, was today charged after his arrest by an off-duty police officer at the scene where he rocketed down Flinders St and ploughed into pedestrians on Thursday. Mr Patton said police had found no evidence Noori planned his horrific actions or that they were terror-related. He said detectives had, so far, uncovered no notes or other signs in his online activity to suggest the alleged attack was premeditated. Mr Patton said it remained unclear why Noori allegedly ploughed a Suzuki SUV into innocent shoppers, workers and tourists at the Elizabeth St intersection. Specialist counter-terrorism officers had indicated they did not believe the incident was related to terrorism, he said, but that could change as investigators probed further. Police would have no hesitation laying the appropriate charges, he said. “We still haven’t ruled out terrorism. We continue to explore it,” Mr Patton said. “It’s about exploring the evidence and the evidence will ultimately take us where it does. If that means it’s a terrorist event, so be it.” Search warrants were on Friday executed at Noori’s home in Heidelberg West and an Oak Park property occupied by relatives. Computer equipment and other property were seized by investigators for analysis. The homicide squad is heading the investigation with help from counter terrorism officers and specialist accident investigators. Noori arrived in Australia from Afghanistan in 2004 and became a citizen of Australia two years later. Mr Patton said he had been voluntarily receiving treatment under a mental health plan and received an appointment reminder in the period before the Flinders St rampage. He said it was not known whether his use of methamphetamine was a factor in his actions. Toxicology will determine the level, if any, of drugs in his system. 15 seconds of horror Noori, a former tradesman, was on Friday assessed by a forensic medical officer at Crime Command headquarters in Spencer St. He was later driven to the Melbourne Custody Centre where he remained overnight. The Suzuki SUV in which Noori was allegedly travelling was registered to a family member, Mr Patton said. He said his precise movements in the period before the events at Flinders St were not yet known. The off-duty sergeant from Melbourne’s east who tackled Noori on Friday underwent surgery on his hand. The officer leapt from a tram to intervene as Noori went on his alleged rampage. His hand was injured as he dragged Noori out of the SUV on Flinders St. Eyewitness captures immediate aftermath of Flinders St horror and arrest WERE YOU THERE? DO YOU KNOW MORE? LET US KNOW AT [e-mail] OR [e-mail] Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull moved to reassure Australians in the wake of the attack. “Whatever the motivation, this was a despicable and cowardly act, but I want to reassure all Australians that this is an isolated incident,” Mr Turnbull said. “We should continue to go about our daily lives in the way we always do, and that means spending time together with family and friends in public spaces, on the streets of our cities, at sporting stadiums, in parks.” ANDREW BOLT: USELESS BOLLARDS AS PEDESTRIANS ‘DELIBERATELY’ MOWN DOWN Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton described Thursday’s events in the CBD as an “isolated incident”. “We’re not ruling in or out anything at the moment,” he said. “If you look at the circumstances, where people have been mowed down by this person in the car, that is a very serious circumstance… I don’t want to pre-empt anything, but we are certainly not ruling out a terrorist link and we certainly aren’t drawing any conclusions at this stage.” READ HOW THE HORROR UNFOLDED BELOW WHAT WE KNOW SO FAR ABOUT FLINDERS ST INCIDENT WITNESSES DESCRIBE CHAOS: ‘IT WAS BANG, BANG, BANG’ PATRICK CARLYON: ANOTHER ACT OF EVIL ON OUR STREETS OFF-DUTY COP HAILED A HERO FOR TACKLING DRIVER