At least 27 people have been injured, some of them critically, after a man set himself on fire inside a Commonwealth Bank (CBA) branch in the Melbourne suburb of Springvale, police in Australia say. The motive is unknown.
The incident happened at about 11:30 a.m. local time on Friday when police and other emergency services were called to a fire at the Commonwealth Bank Springvale Branch, which is located southeast of downtown Melbourne.
A spokeswoman for Victoria Police said a man had walked into the bank with a flammable liquid and deliberately ignited it, setting off a fire that caused heavy damage and injured the man as well as well as dozens of other people, including two children.
Victoria Police confirmed that a total of 27 people were treated for injuries, including the suspect himself who is in a critical condition. Five victims have also been critically injured and an ambulance spokesman said some of them may not survive.
It was not immediately known what may have been the motive for Friday’s incident and a police spokeswoman said it was “too early to say” whether there were any links to terrorism. Several media reports have suggested that the suspect may have been a “disgruntled customer”.
(Copyright 2015 by BNO News B.V. All rights reserved. Info: sales@bnonews.com.)
