A violent crime wave allegedly orchestrated by a group of teenagers swept through Melbourne, culminating in arrests this morning. It began on Tuesday evening when a service station in Werribee was targeted, followed by a staggering 19 further armed robberies across the city until early Wednesday.
The culprits, armed with knives and baseball bats, terrorised staff members at various locations, including service stations, tobacco shops, and fast-food outlets in suburbs such as Truganina and Oakleigh, using a stolen Mercedes-Benz to facilitate their crimes. This vehicle was implicated in multiple robberies that occurred in the early hours of Wednesday, affecting several service stations in different areas.
Notably, last night, three masked individuals allegedly stormed a kebab shop in Narre Warren South, brandishing a knife and making off with the cash register. Surveillance footage captured the incident, revealing one of the assailants pulling a knife in front of the frightened staff.
The chaos continued when the group broke into a pizza shop in Huntingdale just hours later, where staff had to hide in fear as the offenders helped themselves to cash. CCTV also showed them raiding a service station in Braeside early Wednesday, illustrating the audacity of their spate of crimes.
The police action took a positive turn around 6am today when an officer spotted the stolen Mercedes on the Princes Highway in Pakenham. Following a brief pursuit, two teenagers, aged 15 and 17, were apprehended at a nearby location, while a third suspect fled on foot. The older boy was reportedly already on bail for previous armed robbery charges.
Residents witnessed the aftermath of the crime wave, with one local, Ellie McKerrow, describing how she saw a young man run through her backyard as the group abandoned the luxury vehicle. She mentioned that while she often hears about crimes involving machetes, this time, one of the young offenders was seen carrying a samurai sword.
Police have since returned to the area to gather forensic evidence as they continue the investigation, seeking the third suspect involved in this alarming sequence of events that has shocked the community.