At least three dead and 34 injured after man drives car at speeds of up to 90mph straight through crowds of shoppers in Austria before getting out and stabbing bystanders

 

At least three people are dead and another 34 injured after an SUV ploughed into a crowd of people in Graz, Austria.

Eyewitnesses say the driver rammed into crowds at up to 90mph before he got out and began randomly stabbing bystanders, which included the elderly and policemen.

A seven-year-old boy and a woman are thought to be among those killed in the onslaught on the main shopping street of Herrengasse.

 

The governor of the state has described the driver as a 'deranged lone assassin' and the police say the man, who is believed to be a 26-year-old Austrian, was distressed over 'family problems'.

The driver did not resist when he was arrested by the police - who say he acted alone - and they have no reason to believe it was an act of terrorism.

He killed two people while speeding towards the main square where he ploughed into an outdoor dining table full of people, a spokesperson for the regional police said during a press conference today.

A local resident told Sky News that her friend saw people flying through the air, adding: 'Apparently he was attacking elderly people with a knife.'

Dr Sea Rotmann says her friend told her how the driver was 'doing between 100km-an-hour and 150km-an-hour' on the busy road.

An eyewitness told the BBC he saw bodies lying on the ground 'covered in blood'.

The city council released a statement which read: 'At 12pm there was an appalling incident in the centre of Graz, which has caused major alarm and left the city deeply shaken.

'A killer used his car as a weapon and deliberately ran people down on a rampage. The perpetrator is in custody.'  

About 60 ambulances converged on the scene and the Austrian auto club sent four helicopters to bring the victims to hospitals.

Provincial Governor Hermann Schuetzenhoefer said at least one of his injured victims is in a critical condition.

He added: 'We are shocked and dismayed... there is no explanation and no excuse for this attack.

'We have much to do to ensure cohesion in our community, which has clearly become difficult for many people.'

The incident took place in Graz, Austria's second largest city, and police officers have now sealed off the area.

German-language website Krone reported that the man arrested by police is of Bosnian origin.

'People were screaming in panic and ran into the surrounding shops to get to safety', an eyewitness told the website. 

Police chiefs told the Austrian  Kleine Zeitung newspaper that the suspect got out of the SUV and started stabbing people with a knife.

Austria's APA news agency said two bodies were lying near the scene, covered with blankets. 

Bishop Wilhelm Krautwaschl, the Bishop of Graz, shared his condolences on Facebook.

'I am shocked by what's happened, I pray for the victims and for those who have rushed to help then', he said. 

The victims will be remembered at a memorial service, which will take place at the Grazer Stadtpfarrkirche church in the centre of the city at 6pm today. 

Mayor Siegfried Nagl ordered black flags of mourning flown from all municipal buildings and cancelled street fests and other city events