A 15-year-old boy who sparked a major security incident in Melbourne ahead of the AFL grand final on Saturday has today been charged with two counts of attempted murder.

It’s alleged the boy drove erratically through the CBD before he was tasered by police around 8am on Saturday.

He was taken to hospital before being charged with attempted murder and reckless conduct on Sunday, and is due to appear in a children’s court at a date to be set.

On Saturday, members of the public threw a bike under a car in a desperate attempt to stop it being driven dangerously through Melbourne streets this morning.

There was a heavy police presence at Melbourne’s Flinders St after the incident at 8am that ended when police tasered the allegedly knife-wielding driver from Knoxfield.

Dramatic footage captured by pedestrians showed the teenager in a black military-style suit on the road with a baton in his hand.

Officers stopped traffic and trams in all directions as they took him into custody.

Video of the incident showed the car being reversed at high speed along Swanston St.

Bystanders called police when they saw the boy, wearing a backpack and carrying a large implement, walking in circles at the intersection of Flinders and Swanston streets after getting out of the car.

The drama came on a day when the Victorian capital was packed with fans attending the AFL grand final at the MCG and amid increasing terrorism fears.

Early this year six people were killed in nearby Bourke St during a horrific rampage when Dimitrious Gargasoulas, 26, allegedly drove his car through crowds of people. He has been charged with 28 counts of attempted murder over the January 20 incident.

Witnesses told News Corp it looked as if the driver was “trying to run people over”.

Another man told Melbourne’s Herald Sunthe driver came at him with a knife. “He was going mad, he was prepared”.

The witness said: “He was trying to get on the footpath and then started trying to hit people ... he tried to run into Fed Square”.

No one was injured.

A green Toyota Rav 4 is stopped in the middle of the road while numerous items including helmet, a bag and a pair of boots were seen strewn across the road.

#Melbourne @VictoriaPolice on scene at Flinders St x Swanston St intersection. Traffic and trams stopped in all directions. pic.twitter.com/fcVF2btekB — Scott Reed (@scott___reed) September 29, 2017

i was there! Be safe evryone! an old green rav4 was speeding++on a rampage! Praying & Hoping no casualties! — GarieLive (@garry15live) September 29, 2017

Area outside Flinders St cordoned off after man arrested following reports he was driving erratically @abcnewsMelb pic.twitter.com/Njn7Y1W6mj — Andie Noonan (@AndieNoonan) September 29, 2017

The bomb squad searched the vehicle and the items that were found nearby as a precaution. Nothing was found.

Acting Superintendent Wayne Newman said there was no information to suggest the man had terror links — and despite his concerning driving — there was no information to suggest he was deliberately aiming for pedestrians.

“Certainly his behaviour and driving was erratic but no one was harmed,” he said.

“At this stage counter- terrorism links is not something we are looking at in any depth. We certainly scan the horizon for links of that nature, however at the moment we are treating it simply as a mental health issue,” Mr Newman told reporters.

Officers confronted the driver and tasered him because of his erratic behaviour.

“He wasn’t making any threatening remarks that I understand.”

However, the police view differed with witnesses who said the vehicle was driven at them on purpose.

“He swerved and tried to run me over,” Jolon Cooke told the ABC.

“He dead set tried to kill me.”

All of Flinders St and Swanston St completely closed off, massive police operation, no idea what for, looks serious though. pic.twitter.com/Kfmudl4d4b — Owen Jones (@digital__beard) September 29, 2017

— additional reporting: AAP

andrew.koubaridis@news.com.au