Well bloody hell. It doesn’t get more Melbourne than this: This morning’s police incident at Flagstaff Station that caused peak hour trains to be halted and thousands of passengers to be funnelled into Flinders Street was caused by, get this, a busker doing breathing exercises before his show.
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Following the incident, which began at 8:30 this morning, Police have since confirmed that a busker performing carrying a musical instrument in a duffel bag and performing vocal warm-ups caused a passenger to call in a suspected threat to police.
The train was subsequently stopped at Flagstaff Station, with little reasoning given to passengers on-board. It wasn’t until armed Critical Incident Response Team officers boarded the train that panic spread amongst some commuters, with witnesses describing fellow passengers crying and calling relatives to tell them they love them.
Police reportedly ordered passengers to place their hands on their heads and exit the train single-file.
Police Inspector Jacob Bugeja spoke to media following the incident and confirmed that the busker was simply on his way to perform in the city and was absolutely no threat to anyone.
We’ve spoken to that person later on down in the CBD, and confirmed there was no risk. He was a busker there to play an instrument in town. There was a bag the person was carrying, and he had his tools to do his busking in.
[The concerned passenger] saw someone acting unusual on the train. They have seen a bag and were unsure what was in the bag and, coupled with the behaviour of the person, they were a bit worried and just wanted to let us know.
So there you go. A busker doing vocal warmups freaks out a commuter, and the entire City Loop grinds to a halt as a result.
Huge effort this morning, Melbourne.
