Police in Victoria have officially named the attacker behind the deadly stabbing in the Melborne CBD yesterday afternoon, identifying him as 31-year-old Mohamed Khalif, who was also known to go by the name of Hassan Shire.
Speaking with media this morning, Police Commissioner Graham Ashton said that Khalif was known “at the national level” as well as to state police, adding that he had a “prior criminal history” related to drug and driving offenses.
Ashton also said that the attacker, who came to Australia from Somalia in the late 1990s, had “family associations” that were known to police.
The suspect drove to the Bourke Street area at around 4.10pm yesterday and deliberately started a fire in his vehicle before fleeing it. He brandished a knife and stabbed three men, one of whom, who has yet to be identified, later died in hospital.
He was shot in the chest after attempting to assault police officers and taken to Royal Melbourne Hospital, where he died of his injuries around 30 minutes later.
Premier Daniel Andrews condemned the incident as “an evil and terrible thing”, thanking the police and citizens who responded and adding “as a city, will not be defined by this act of evil – we are bigger and stronger than this.”
Bourke Street has since been reopened, and Melbourne residents are advised that planned weekend events at Flemington and Remembrance Day commemorations will still go ahead as planned.
