An allegedly stolen SUV driven by a gang reportedly armed with machetes has been chased by police through Melbourne’s busy Bourke St mall on Monday lunchtime.
Shoppers fled in terror as the white BMW sped through the pedestrianised shopping street where six people were killed and 27 seriously injured in 2017 by a drug-crazed driver.
The SUV – with smashed windows – was surrounded by cops about 1.30pm on Monday as its occupants reportedly fled through the nearby Myer department store.
Early reports suggested the car was stolen by a group of teens armed with machetes who drove the vehicle down the shopping strip at speed, 7NEWS stated.
In a statement, Victoria Police confirmed ‘a number of people’ had been arrested ‘following a pursuit’.
‘We will provide further information when it comes to hand but there have been no injuries during the incident and there is no threat to the community,’ a spokesperson said.
The Victoria Police helicopter was seen hovering over the CBD after the city pursuit.
The BMW intercepted by police on Monday in the Bourke Street Mall
The incident terrified Melbourne city dwellers
Route 96 and 86 trams were delayed due to the incident.
A witness told 3AW she earlier saw what appeared to be a white BMW with smashed windows travelling down Punt Road in South Yarra, just outside the CBD.
The incident brings back disturbing memories for Melburnians who have never fully recovered from the actions of James Gargasoulas along the same busy shopping strip.
Gargasoulas mowed down 33 pedestrians, killing six, on the packed strip in the central city on January 20, 2017 after evading police for two days.
Among the dead was three-month-old Zachary Bryant; 10-year-old Thalia Hakin; Jess Mudie, 22; Yosuke Kanno, 25; Matthew Si, 33; and Bhavita Patel, 33.
Baby Zac was being pushed in his pram by his mum when Gargasoulas ploughed into them, sending Zac 68m into the air to his death.
Police had been trying to capture him after a near-fatal stabbing attack on his brother in Windsor.
Gargasoulas was jailed for life in 2019.
The BMW managed to get past bollards placed around the mall by using the tram tracks
Police investigated the BMW in Melbourne’s CBD
Bourke Street killer James Gargasoulas was jailed for life
He will be 75 before he is eligible for parole after being sentenced to a minimum of 46 years behind bars.
A Victorian coroner later blasted Victoria Police for the way it handled the Gargasoulas arrest.
In handing down her 300 page findings, Coroner Jacqui Hawkins provided a scathing assessment of how police had mishandled Gargasoulas leading up to the atrocity.
‘It is agonising that despite the escalating events of the previous days and the scores of police members actively engaged in attempting to stop him, such a violent, drug-fuelled, psychotic and delusional perpetrator was able to slip through the cracks and evade interception by police over several hours on 20 January 2017,’ she said.
‘Deficiencies included poor planning; a lack of assertive leadership, supervision and coordinated command and control; lack of adequate resources; inadequate communications between units across police radio channels; failure to follow up and action essential inquiries and resources, inflexible attitudes and policies; loss of objectivity; a staunch belief that negotiating with a delusional person was the best chance of bringing the incident to a conclusion; and, ultimately a reluctance to act assertively for fear of recrimination.’
More to come
