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Alleged Bourke Street Killer Dimitrious Gargasoulas Charged With Five Counts Of Murder

Five people died, and dozens were injured, in the Bourke Street rampage.
Dimitrious Gargasoulas has been charged over the deadly rampage on Melbourne's Bourke Street.
Edgar Su / Reuters
Dimitrious Gargasoulas has been charged over the deadly rampage on Melbourne's Bourke Street.

The 26-year-old man accused of running down and killing five people in a rampage on Melbourne's Bourke Street last Friday has been charged with five counts of murder.

Dimitrious Gargasoulas, 26, did not appear at Melbourne Magistrates Court as scheduled because he was unwell, his lawyer claimed.

Earlier the accused killer was taken to Melbourne West police station. He has been charged with five counts of murder, with other charges pending, and has been remanded to appear in court via video link in August.

The victims killed in the deadly rampage on Friday include a three month old baby, Thalia Hakin, 10, Jess Mudie, 22, Matthew Si, 33, and a 25-year-old Japanese man.

The 26-year-old was recently in prison and was only released on bail six days before the deadly rampage on Friday.

Since his arrest, Gargasoulas had been under police guard at St Vincent's Hospital while being treated for a gunshot wound in his arm which required surgery.

Police had been waiting days to interview and charge him, after he drove a car through the popular shopping strip on Friday afternoon.

Earlier on Monday afternoon a man in a hospital gown, believed to be Gargasoulas, was driven to police headquarters in Melbourne's CBD.

As the charges were laid against the 26-year-old, thousands of people united in solidarity at Melbourne's Federation Square to pay tribute to those killed and injured in the deadly rampage.

The Victorian Government has set up a fund, pledging an initial $100,000, for families affected by the tragedy.

There has also been community outrage after it was revealed Gargasoulas was on bail at the time of the attack.

On Monday morning Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews announced the state government would add resources to the bail system to ensure all applications were better assessed -- including an after-hours court to assess applications at night.

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