ISIS sympathiser Saeed Noori, aged 33, who drove his car into 16 pedestrians outside Flinders Street Station on 21 December, 2017, said he “did it in the name of Allah”.
He had been restrained by an off-duty police officer and had uttered “Allah Akbar” as he was been arrested. He told investigators that a “voice within” told him to mow the car into pedestrians.
His actions caused the death of 83-year-old Antonios “Anton” Crocaris who died from head injuries in hospital after the attack.
Bill Crocaris, the son of the victim, told the court that watching his “precious and irreplaceable father” take his last breath was “heartbreaking and torturous.”
“Every day I wonder why he was killed in the senseless manner that he was,” Bill said.
Freda May Crocaris, the daughter of the victim, said that her father’s death had been treated as insignificant compared to those of other attacks. She said she now felt threatened and vulnerable.
Other witnesses also took the stand to describe “bodies flying” in the air. A number feel the symptoms of post traumatic stress that are triggered during car noises or by reading of similar crimes.
During his pre-sentence plea hearing at the Supreme Court of Victoria, Mr Noori was quoted as saying: “I’m sorry for the people that I injured but I did it in the name of Allah.”
Crown prosecutor Mark Gibson SC said the attack was “unprovoked” and “callous”. He argued that Mr Noori should receive life imprisonment.