MELBOURNE: Twenty-six people were hurt Friday, some critically, after a man set fire to a busy bank in Australia with one witness saying he heard a “big blast” and children screaming.
Police said the man entered the Commonwealth Bank branch in the Melbourne suburb of Springvale with flammable liquid. Some reports said he doused himself with the accelerant and went up in flames, although this was not confirmed.
“He had some sort of accelerant with him. A container, not sure what he had. And somehow that accelerant was lit inside the bank,” Inspector Jacqui Poida said.
The motive was not clear and Poida said it was too early to tell if it was terror related.
Paramedics said six of those injured were in a critical condition. One is believed to be the suspect, who is under police guard in hospital.
