A man accused of mowing down pedestrians outside Melbourne's Flinders Street Station before saying "Allahu Akbar", has been ordered to stand trial on murder and attempted murder charges.
Saeed Noori, 33, allegedly drove his mother's Suzuki SUV into 16 pedestrians on the afternoon of December 21, including one elderly man who later died from head injuries.
The incident took place at the corner of Flinders and Elizabeth streets, one of the city's busiest intersections, bringing the area to a standstill as emergency crews responded.
Noori faced a committal hearing in Melbourne Magistrates Court on Tuesday and it was determined he will stand trial on one count of murder and 15 of attempted murder.
After the alleged car attack, Noori was restrained by off-duty police officer Francis Adams who swooped on the car, which had slammed into a bollard.
"The accused said 'Allahu Akbar' two or three times," prosecutor Mark Gibson SC said of the moment Noori was being arrested.
In his first police interview later that evening, Noori claimed Allah had told him to do it, court documents reveal.
Noori's home computer was also found to have images of car attacks in London, Barcelona and the US city of Charlottesville.
An Islamic studies expert said there were patterns within Noori's statements that pointed to "a certain degree of radicalisation".
"And a certain degree of belief that this was part of his calling," the expert said.
But defence lawyers are likely to challenge the admissibility of Noori's initial police interview, which took place hours after the incident.
Noori suffers from schizophrenia, had likely not eaten or slept for days, and was not in a state to be questioned, lawyers say.
"Do you recall him talking about the government torturing him?" lawyer Dermot Dann QC asked a police officer.
"That (intelligence agency) ASIO had been trying to assassinate him?"
Mr Dann foreshadowed a possible defence of mental impairment and said lawyers also had issues around the alleged intention to kill.
Magistrate Suzanne Cameron concluded there was enough evidence to commit Noori for trial.
Earlier in court, graphic CCTV footage of the alleged car attack was played, showing the Suzuki ploughing into people, some of whom were upturned and sent flying.
Antonios "Anton" Crocaris, 83, died eight days later from head injuries.
Calculations put the SUV as travelling between 47 km/h and 53 km/h when Noori allegedly drove through a red light and into the crossing.
Noori came to Australia from Afghanistan as a refugee in 2004 and is now an Australian citizen.
He will face a directions hearing in the Supreme Court on October 2.
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Australian Associated Press
