Dramatic moment when knife-wielding man is tasered by cops on tram after allegedly threatening to kill terrified passengers
- Man, 57, allegedly threatened tram passengers
- He boarded the tram in Collins Street, Melbourne
A man has been tasered by police after boarding a tram and allegedly threatening to kill his fellow passengers while armed with a knife.
The 57-year-old man boarded the tram on Collins Street, in Melbourne’s inner city, around 8.25am on Saturday before demanding the driver open the doors.
After the driver refused, the man reportedly brandished a knife and was heard threatening to ‘cut the throats’ of terrified passengers nearby.
Footage from the tense ordeal shows police officers talking to the man from outside the carriage before two officers in tactical gear take control.
As the man tries to grab hold of a woman’s hair, two male officers rush into the carriage before deploying a taser on the 57-year-old.
A man has been tasered by police after boarding a tram and allegedly threatening to kill his fellow passengers while armed with a knife (pictured)
Witnesses claim that shortly after boarding the tram, the man began to become aggressive.
“Get me out of here,” he yells in the footage.
“Open this goddamn door or I’ll slit this woman’s throat.”
Officers urge the man to put down the knife and leave the carriage.
The man replies, “No. Get the car away or I’ll start killing these girls.”
Two large cops then storm the tram, one of which deploys a taser on the knife man.
Up to 10 passengers and the driver are evacuated while the man is handcuffed.
The 57-year-old man boarded the tram on Collins Street, Melbourne’s inner city, around 8.45am on Saturday before demanding the driver open the doors (pictured)
Passenger Jamara Janic said people had remained frozen in their seats for fear that a sudden movement would catch the man’s attention.
“Hearing someone say and think they’re going to kill someone is so scary,” she said 7News.
“I looked at the passenger next to me, he started to bend over, so I dove too and just started praying.”
The man allegedly stole from a 7-Eleven before boarding the streetcar.
He has been charged with armed robbery, false imprisonment, threat of murder and assault and will appear before Melbourne Magistrates Court.
