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January 2017 Melbourne car attack
On 20 January 2017, around 1:30 pm AEDT on a busy Friday, a car was deliberately driven into pedestrians along Bourke Street in the Melbourne central business district, Victoria, Australia. Six people were killed and twenty-six were seriously injured. The driver of the vehicle, James "Dimitrious" Gargasoulas, who was in a drug-induced psychosis, was subsequently found guilty of six counts of murder and was sentenced to life in prison with a non-parole period of 46 years.
The maroon 1995 Holden Commodore (VS) Executive sedan used in the attack was stolen from his mother's partner who lived in the same block of flats as Gargasoulas. Upon being interviewed, the car owner alleged that on the night of 18 January 2017, Gargasoulas entered his flat with a Bible, sat down, started burning it and threw it into his face. After this, he said that he flicked it on the floor and was then punched by Gargasoulas.
In the early hours of 20 January 2017, Gargasoulas used methamphetamine at his mother's flat in Windsor and then attacked his brother in the street stabbing him in the head and chest with a knife leaving him in a critical condition. He later took his pregnant girlfriend hostage; she was eventually released in South Wharf.
Gargasoulas was captured on footage driving and behaving erratically at the intersection of Flinders Street, St Kilda Road and Swanston Street, outside the entrance to Flinders Street railway station. Two men, Year 12 student Tevita Mahina and his cousin Isaac Tupou, attempted to stop him, hitting the windscreen with a baseball bat. The driver continued northbound up Swanston St's western-side footpath at speed towards the Bourke Street Mall, turned left onto Bourke Street's southern-side footpath and struck more than 20 pedestrians. The vehicle was stopped outside 555 Bourke Street by a combination of mechanical failure and from being rammed by a Victoria Police Ford Territory from the Operations Response Unit. Victoria Police officers from the Critical Incident Response Team shot the driver in the right arm and also tasered him before his arrest. A child and two adults died at the scene, another man died in hospital before the end of the day, and a three-month-old baby boy died the next day in the evening. A sixth person died on 30 January.
Among the victims was a 10-year-old girl, who died on 20 January 2017, as well as a three-month-old baby boy who died on 21 January. The others were a 25-year-old man, a 22-year-old woman, a 33-year-old man, and a 33-year-old woman.
A memorial for the victims was held in Federation Square on 23 January and floral tributes were left by members of the public at nine locations along the Bourke Street Mall. On 30 January it was announced that a permanent memorial garden would be established, and that donations approaching AU$1,000,000 had been made to the Bourke Street Fund for the families of the victims. On 31 January, the inorganic tributes were removed from the mall for storage by the Melbourne City Council. This collection was subsequently handed over to the State Library Victoria. The floral tributes were taken for composting for the Victims of Crime memorial near State Parliament.
Police urged eyewitnesses to provide a witness statement and collaborated with over 300 witnesses. Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton was quick to dismiss claims the attack was an act of terror and said it was related to a stabbing incident earlier that day which had developed into a crime spree. Victoria Police maintained religion was not a significant motivation.
On 21 January 2017, the State Coroner announced an inquest would be held which would investigate the decision to release Gargasoulas on bail, his conduct prior to the incident, his previous involvement with police and the police pursuit. In July 2017, as preparation was underway to hold an inquest, the Coroner adjourned the inquest until the conclusion of the criminal trial following a submission from Counsel Assisting the Coroner that to hold an inquest would create a risk of "compromising the criminal proceedings and the rights of the accused to a fair trial". In April 2019, inquest preparation recommenced with the holding of a directions hearing.
January 2017 Melbourne car attack
On 20 January 2017, around 1:30 pm AEDT on a busy Friday, a car was deliberately driven into pedestrians along Bourke Street in the Melbourne central business district, Victoria, Australia. Six people were killed and twenty-six were seriously injured. The driver of the vehicle, James "Dimitrious" Gargasoulas, who was in a drug-induced psychosis, was subsequently found guilty of six counts of murder and was sentenced to life in prison with a non-parole period of 46 years.
The maroon 1995 Holden Commodore (VS) Executive sedan used in the attack was stolen from his mother's partner who lived in the same block of flats as Gargasoulas. Upon being interviewed, the car owner alleged that on the night of 18 January 2017, Gargasoulas entered his flat with a Bible, sat down, started burning it and threw it into his face. After this, he said that he flicked it on the floor and was then punched by Gargasoulas.
In the early hours of 20 January 2017, Gargasoulas used methamphetamine at his mother's flat in Windsor and then attacked his brother in the street stabbing him in the head and chest with a knife leaving him in a critical condition. He later took his pregnant girlfriend hostage; she was eventually released in South Wharf.
Gargasoulas was captured on footage driving and behaving erratically at the intersection of Flinders Street, St Kilda Road and Swanston Street, outside the entrance to Flinders Street railway station. Two men, Year 12 student Tevita Mahina and his cousin Isaac Tupou, attempted to stop him, hitting the windscreen with a baseball bat. The driver continued northbound up Swanston St's western-side footpath at speed towards the Bourke Street Mall, turned left onto Bourke Street's southern-side footpath and struck more than 20 pedestrians. The vehicle was stopped outside 555 Bourke Street by a combination of mechanical failure and from being rammed by a Victoria Police Ford Territory from the Operations Response Unit. Victoria Police officers from the Critical Incident Response Team shot the driver in the right arm and also tasered him before his arrest. A child and two adults died at the scene, another man died in hospital before the end of the day, and a three-month-old baby boy died the next day in the evening. A sixth person died on 30 January.
Among the victims was a 10-year-old girl, who died on 20 January 2017, as well as a three-month-old baby boy who died on 21 January. The others were a 25-year-old man, a 22-year-old woman, a 33-year-old man, and a 33-year-old woman.
A memorial for the victims was held in Federation Square on 23 January and floral tributes were left by members of the public at nine locations along the Bourke Street Mall. On 30 January it was announced that a permanent memorial garden would be established, and that donations approaching AU$1,000,000 had been made to the Bourke Street Fund for the families of the victims. On 31 January, the inorganic tributes were removed from the mall for storage by the Melbourne City Council. This collection was subsequently handed over to the State Library Victoria. The floral tributes were taken for composting for the Victims of Crime memorial near State Parliament.
Police urged eyewitnesses to provide a witness statement and collaborated with over 300 witnesses. Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton was quick to dismiss claims the attack was an act of terror and said it was related to a stabbing incident earlier that day which had developed into a crime spree. Victoria Police maintained religion was not a significant motivation.
On 21 January 2017, the State Coroner announced an inquest would be held which would investigate the decision to release Gargasoulas on bail, his conduct prior to the incident, his previous involvement with police and the police pursuit. In July 2017, as preparation was underway to hold an inquest, the Coroner adjourned the inquest until the conclusion of the criminal trial following a submission from Counsel Assisting the Coroner that to hold an inquest would create a risk of "compromising the criminal proceedings and the rights of the accused to a fair trial". In April 2019, inquest preparation recommenced with the holding of a directions hearing.
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