Melbourne police: SUV attack 'deliberate'
Jonathan Hunt reports on the investigation after a SUV plows into pedestrians in Australia.
An Afghan-born Australian who supported the Islamic State was sentenced to life in prison for killing one person and injuring 16 others when he rammed a car into pedestrians on a busy Australian sidewalk.
Saeed Noori, 37, plowed his mother’s SUV into pedestrians on Dec. 21, 2017, outside a busy train station in downtown Melbourne.
He killed 87-year-old Antonios Crocaris, who died in a hospital eight days after he was struck, and injured 16 others.
On Thursday, Victoria state Supreme Court Justice Elizabeth Hollingworth sentenced Noori to life in prison. He must spend at least 30 years behind bars before being eligible for release on parole in 2049.
"Deliberately driving a vehicle into a crowd of people is a dreadful crime," the judge said. "Your actions have horrified and traumatized many people."
A woman identified as Noori’s mother collapsed in court as her son was sentenced.
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Meanwhile, Noori, a father of three, bowed his head for the entirety of his sentencing. He waved to family members as he was escorted out of court.
Last December, Noori pleaded guilty to the murder of Crocaris – a charge that carries a maximum sentence of life in prison.
He also pleaded guilty to 11 counts of recklessly causing serious injuries, which carries a maximum of 15 years in prison, and five counts of endangering life, which carries up to 10 years in prison.
Noori arrived in Australia from Afghanistan as a refugee in 2004 and became an Australian citizen two years later.
He was an ISIS sympathizer and his computer and a USB stick contained images from international militant attacks and Islamic State movement videos.
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During the trial, his lawyers said he suffered from schizophrenia and had fasted for a week before the attack.
Hollingworth noted Noori's mental health issues, years of heavy drug use and gambling addiction.
In this photo from an Australian Broadcasting Corp. video, a white SUV vehicle is stopped after striking pedestrians in Melbourne, Australia, Dec. 21, 2017. (Associated Press)
"What happened was not due to a drug-induced psychosis. There is nothing specific in the days leading up that seems to have triggered your particular actions that day," she told Noori.
"The offending was entirely unprovoked, and displayed a callous disregard for the sanctity of human life," she added.
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It was the second use of a car to attack pedestrians in downtown Melbourne in 2017. In January, six people were killed and more than 30 were injured when a car was driven in a pedestrian mall a few blocks from Noori's attack.
James Gargasoulas, 29, was sentenced last month to life in prison for what the judge described as "one of the worst examples of mass murder in Australian history."
Gargasoulas will spend at least 46 years in prison before he is eligible for parole.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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