Saeed Noori before an earlier hearing Credit:Seven News Melbourne One of those hit, 83-year-old grandfather Antonio Crocaris, died eight days later in hospital. Loading Magistrate Suzanne Cameron on Tuesday committed Mr Noori, 33, to stand trial on one charge of murder, 15 of attempted murder and one of reckless conduct endangering life. He pleaded not guilty to all charges. He does not face any terror-related charges. Police said at the time of the incident it did not appear to be terror-related.

But an expert in Islamic studies, who cannot be named, said in a statement to police it was possible Mr Noori underwent some radicalisation beforehand, although an interest in vehicle attacks did not make him a terrorist. The expert said Mr Noori told police "Allah made him do it". In court, the expert said Mr Noori hadn’t shown any support for Islamic State. The expert was not asked by police to assess the alleged motivation behind the incident. In addition to the photographs of overseas vehicle attacks, Mr Noori's computer also contained images of Adolf Hitler and Nazi soldiers, Taliban fighters, the September 2011 attacks and of American politicians mocking Islam. Prosecutors on Tuesday withdrew some charges and confirmed that the murder charge and attempted murder counts were laid in relation to each of the people hit by the SUV. The reckless conduct charge relates to other people who were injured in the incident.

Opening the prosecution case, Mr Gibson said the accused man drove west along Flinders Street and onto tram tracks, before he ran a red light and hit the pedestrians. Experts believe he was driving between 47km/h and 53km/h when he hit the first person. ‘‘These actions caused the death of one person and injuries to many others,’’ Mr Gibson said. ‘‘The Crown case is [that] by driving at speed he was intending to kill these pedestrians who were unfortunate enough to be in his path.’’ After he hit the pedestrians, Mr Noori veered left and crashed into a bollard at a tram stop, which brought the car to a halt. Saeed Noori under arrest on Flinders Street. Credit:Godwin Bradbeer

Amid the chaos, off-duty police officer Francis Adams, who was getting off a tram and saw the incident, grappled with Mr Noori and told him he was under arrest. The accused man said ‘‘Allah Akbar’’ two of three times, Mr Gibson said. Officers from the critical response team then dragged Mr Noori from the vehicle. Mr Noori sat still in the dock on Tuesday as the court was shown CCTV of the lead-up to the incident, and when pedestrians were hit. He appeared to have his eyes either closed or downwards as the CCTV was played. Defence counsel Dermot Dann, QC, said Mr Noori’s defence related to the accused man’s mental health and state of mind and whether he was mentally impaired at the time. Mr Noori had previously been diagnosed with schizophrenia, Mr Dann said. Mr Noori was born in Afghanistan and came to Australia on a humanitarian visa in 2004, the court heard, and became an Australian citizen two years later.

In the hours before the incident, Mr Gibson said, Mr Noori had a computer technician remove the hard drive from his computer, withdrew $7000 from his bank and left his Heidelberg West home after telling his wife he was going shopping for clothes. He deposited $3000 into his mother’s bank account because he owed her money, the court heard, tried to hire a car from Preston but couldn’t because he didn’t have a credit card, and then visited his mother’s home and left in the SUV. He travelled by bus before he drove his mother’s car. Police were unable to find the hard drive or account for the other $4000, the court heard. Sergeant Adams, who had his left arm in a sling as he gave evidence, told the court he pushed his head against Mr Noori’s head and grabbed his hands to subdue him as they wrestled, until the policeman thought the driver was unconscious. ‘‘I felt him going from struggling to not struggling,’’ he said.

Senior Constable Isaac Cropley, of the critical response team, said by the time Mr Noori was dragged out of the SUV he was docile, to the point officers checked if he was unconscious and breathing. Mr Noori was taken to be hospital and assessed by forensic officers. He told one he hadn’t taken his anti-psychotic and anti-depressant medicine for two days. Detective Senior Constable Simon Bray told the court that while in hospital, the accused man said: ‘‘I should be locked up. It was deliberate. There were voices.’’ Mr Noori was remanded in custody to appear next week before the Supreme Court, which will set a date for his trial.