Guns, cars, knives where there is a will there is a way.

At least three killed in Austria after man drives into crowd before 'stabbing passers-by' in Graz

A seven-year-old boy is reportedly among the three people killed in Austria by a man who ploughed his car into crowds in the country’s second-largest city and then reportedly started stabbing people.

A witness told the Wiener Zeitung newspaper that dead bodies were left lying face down in the street after the vehicle sped through the historical Herrengasse in Graz.

More than 30 pedestrians were injured during the rampage and the driver, a 26-year-old Austrian man of Bosnian heritage, had been arrested and the area sealed off.Blood could be seen on the pavement after people were run over in Graz earlier today

Authorities said that 10 people were seriously injured in hospital and one patient was in a critical condition on Saturday afternoon.

Witnesses recounted how the man drove his vehicle into the crowd apparently at random, sending people crashing into the windscreen and rolling over the bonnet. 

Police said that after the car was stopped, the driver jumped out and attacked passers-by with a knife before he could be subdued and arrested.

The incident happened at around noon local time (11.00am BST), sending screaming shoppers running into shops for safety.

A statement from the city council said: "At 12pm there was an appalling incident in the centre of Graz, which has caused major alarm and left the city deeply shaken.

"A killer used his car as a weapon and deliberately ran people down on a rampage. The perpetrator is in custody."Paramedics treat a person at the scene where an SUV drove into pedestrians in the city center of Graz, Austria

A spokesperson said the killing spree started in Zweiglgasse, where one person died, and the driver continued through the city and over the Schönaugasse bridge to the Jakominiplatz square on Herrengasse, ploughing into a cafe seating area.

A witness speaking to the Wiener Zeitung compared the sound of chairs and tables being knocked over by the speeding car to a "gunfight".

The mayor of Graz, Siegfried Nagl, was only metres away from the car as it screamed down Zweiglgasse and said he heard a "loud bang" behind him as he rode his Vespa.

He described the vehicle overtaking a bus at "extremely high speed" and hit a man, who died at the scene.

Mr Nagl said: "At first I thought it was an accident and the driver would stop, but he carried on purposefully and had deliberately killed the man."

The suspect was caught in a nearby street. Police are not currently investigating terrorism as a motive and the man is believed to be suffering from mental illness.

Herrengasse is Graz's main shopping street and the adjoining squares are popular with tourists and diners making the most of the summer with its outdoor cafes and bars.

This afternoon it was lined with 50 ambulances and dozens of police cars as helicopters flew overhead.

Hermann Schützenhöfer, the governor of Styria state, called the driver a "deranged lone assassin".Paramedics at the scene where an SUV drove into pedestrians in the city center of Graz, Austria

"We are shocked and dismayed...here is no explanation and no excuse for this attack," he said at a press conference.

"We have much to do to ensure cohesion in our community, which has clearly become difficult for many people. I appeal to everyone to seek unity in their lives and build bridges, not walls."

The deputy governor, Michael Schickhofer, called the tragedy "incomprehensible" and said he could not express the city's pain.

Wilhelm Krautwaschl, the Bishop of Graz, said he was deeply saddened by the attack.

"Shocked about what happened, I pray for the victims and for those hurrying to help them," he wrote on Facebook.

A memorial service for the victims is due to be held at the Grazer Stadtpfarrkirche at 6pm this afternoon.

The 2015 Austrian Grand Prix is currently being held at the Spielberg Ring about 40 miles from Graz.