Accused Melbourne driver's popular gay brother Angelo still in hospital after stabbing

Friends have paid tribute to the "sweet" brother of the 26-year-old accused of the Melbourne CBD massacre who is languishing in hospital after he was allegedly stabbed by his sibling.

Dimitrious "Jimmy" Gargasoulas allegedly knifed younger brother Angelo, who is gay, in the early hours of Friday morning before setting off on a 12-hour rampage through Bourke Street. The siblings were with their mother Emily in her public housing apartment in Windsor.

The alleged attack was labelled a "homophobic" incident after Gargasoulas posted a series of unhinged posts on Facebook describing himself as "god himself in a human bodily form" and denouncing gay people.

"It is stated in my 10 commandments no homosexual shall rule the earth," the driver wrote on the social media network.

"I'll take you all out just me you need a army to take me and so far you have presented half a army army of useless wait until you see mine!" he ranted in another post.

His mother Emily this weekend told 7 News that before the carnage, Gargasoulas fought with Angelo over his sexuality at her public housing apartment in Windsor and allegedly stabbed him in the face.

"Jimmy keeps saying to me, I'm going to kill all gays and poofters and lesbians," she said.

The agonised mum said she was "ashamed" that Gargasoulas - who allegedly deliberately ploughed a car into pedestrians, killing five and injuring 15 - was her son.

Most of the family's Facebook profiles have now been removed from the site. But an ex-girlfriend of Gargasoulas's half-brother George said Mrs Gargasoulas only had photos of Angelo on her page, none of Jimmy.

Friends of Angelo, who was critically injured and remains in hospital, took to Facebook to leave tributes to the "sweet" and "positive" young man.

"I cant believe something like that would happened to someone as sweet as you," posted Ivy Linda Battistello.

"Heart goes out to my blue eye hunnie pie Angelo Gargasoulas," added Brittany Serovska.

Another left a heartbreaking message seen by the Gay News Network before Angelo's account was removed. It read: "...your smile, constant positivity and vitality always rubbed off on everyone around you. You are a strong and beautiful human. Please stay with us! There is so much love for you in this world! My thoughts and prayers are with you my friend."

Family friends from Coober Pedy in South Australia, where the brothers grew up with sister Sesimani Kostaras, said Gargasoulas was a "normal" and "sweet" teenager.

Alex Pantelis, 23, told the Sunday Mail he was shocked by what had happened. "It's not like Jimmy," he said. "He's usually pretty funny.

"(And) from what I knew, I thought he got along with his brother fine."

Gargasoulas has now left hospital and is in custody, having been shot by police in Bourke Street after he allegedly took his girlfriend hostage before "intentionally" ramming adults and children in Melbourne's CBD on Friday afternoon.