Police in Australia have arrested a 20-year-old man suspected of planning to use an automatic rifle for a mass shooting on New Year's Eve in downtown Melbourne, Australia's second largest city.

Victoria state police said on Tuesday that the man was acting alone and had not been able to acquire a firearm before his arrest late on Monday.

Victoria Police Deputy Commissioner Shane Patton said the man, an Australian citizen with Somalian parents, had been monitored by authorities since the beginning of the year.

The man had planned to shoot as many people as possible at Melbourne's Federation Square, which swells with crowds on New Year's Eve as the focus of the city's celebrations, Patton said. Police said the man arrested on Monday will be charged after his police interview and will then appear at Melbourne Magistrates Court, likely later on Tuesday or early on Wednesday.

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