In the early hours of February 23, a group of individuals attempted a home invasion in Pakenham, wielding machetes, a baseball bat, and a firearm. Inside the house, two young children, aged three and six, were among those asleep, blissfully unaware of the impending threat.
The dramatic incident was captured on video, revealing the assailants aggressively shattering windows and trying to force their way through the front door. Despite their efforts, they failed to gain entry and instead shifted their focus to vandalizing the resident’s vehicles before retreating from the scene.
Merely twenty minutes later, the same group targeted another residence in Lynbrook and subsequently invaded a home in Bellfield, where they injured a 20-year-old occupant. These attacks appear to be part of a retaliatory cycle, believed to be linked to a previous stabbing incident in Collingwood that left two youths critically injured.
Detective Inspector Mark Patrick has condemned the attack, calling it a “vicious assault on innocent individuals.” The ongoing investigation seeks to bring those responsible to justice and provide some measure of peace to the affected communities.
9News understands the homes may have been attacked in retaliation for a stabbing in Collingwood which left two youths seriously wounded.
Detective Inspector Mark Patrick described the incident as a “vicious attack on innocent individuals”.
“We are certainly looking at that angle, gang activity, paybacks,” Patrick said.
The group is believed to have continued their crime spree in Clyde North yesterday afternoon, where they broke into a home about 1pm.
Thousands of dollars worth of luxury items, including handbags, wallets, watches and a robe, were stolen from the home, with the group later boasting about their loot in a series of posts on social media.
Three men were arrested last night after detectives swooped on a home on Shafer Circuit in Endeavor Hills.
A 22-year-old homeless man, 18-year-old Frankston man and 23-year old Frankston man were arrested.
Charges are expected to be laid.
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