Dramatic footage has emerged of a man during an alleged carjacking rampage across Melbourne in peak hour traffic before sparking a police chase through the CBD.
The chaos began when the man, believed to have been on his way to a police station to make a complaint, ran out of petrol in Tarneit in the city’s west about 7.45am on Tuesday.
Police allege the man attended a nearby convenience store, where he took a jerry can and attempted to get fuel before he assaulted the store attendant.
He fled the scene and allegedly carjacked several vehicles in Tarneit and North Melbourne before making his way to the CBD.
Footage has emerged of the alleged carjackings in Tarneit, where the gunman is seen ordering a man to get out of a car stopped at traffic lights.
‘Get out now, go, go!’ he was heard screaming at the terrified man, who fled to safety.
The man spends a few moments looking inside the car before targeting a second motorist.
‘Keys, please,’ he ordered.
‘I love you and God bless.’
He was then seen driving off.
CCTV captured the suspect casually walking down a CBD street carrying a firearm while smoking a cigarette
Terrified witnesses recalled the man blaring his horn, yelling at people to move, and ‘almost hit a lot of people’ as he sped through the busy street towards the CBD.
‘He almost hit this old lady – I had to grab her and move her out the way,’ one told Sky News.
‘He was beeping and yelling at everyone to get out of the way. He almost hit a lot of people.’
A police helicopter hovered above the CBD as specialist police moved in on the suspect, who was spotted walking casually down a laneway smoking a cigarette with a firearm in his other hand.
Heavily armed police moved into arrest the suspect in the Melbourne CBD shortly before 9am
The suspect (pictured) was transported to Royal Melbourne Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries
Heavily armed officers in camouflage gear were seen making their way down a side street before confronting the man at a hotel in a lane off Bourke Street – one of the Melbourne’s busiest thoroughfares.
A firearm was allegedly seized at the scene.
Photos showed the suspect covered in blood lying on a stretcher before he was led away in handcuffs to a nearby ambulance.
He was transported to Royal Melbourne Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, where he remains under assessment.
The Hoppers Crossing man, 48, has since been taken into custody. No charges have yet been laid
Other witnesses claimed the man brandishing his weapon at shocked guests and staff at the hotel shortly before his arrest.
‘He sort of ran through the foyer, and then he sort of ran out the back,’ a hotel worker told the Herald Sun.
‘I was coming out of the bathroom, and then I just saw him … waving the gun at me, and I just took off, yeah, through the foyer.
‘He was just sort of waving and screaming, it was very scary.’
The suspect has since been taken into custody to be interviewed by detectives
Police have assured there was no ongoing risk to the public.
Police allege the man’s wild Grand Theft Auto-style morning began after he ran out of petrol while travelling with his wife.
‘He carjacked a vehicle and headed into North Melbourne, where he took another car before entering the CBD,’ Acting Inspector Emma Lobb told reporters.
‘He dumped that vehicle around Lonsdale Street. Our Critical Incident Response Team and SOG safely secured the arrest. There was a firearm on the male, however it has been recovered and there are no ongoing threats to the public.’
The latest incident comes just days after terrified lunchtime shoppers in Bourke Street were forced to run for their lives after an allegedly stolen SUV struck a pedestrian while being chased by police.
Victoria Premier Jacinta Allan has since assured that ‘the CBD of Melbourne is safe’.
‘The Victorian community has that protection from Victoria Police,’ she told reporters on Tuesday.
‘As we saw this morning, Victoria Police moved swiftly, dealt with this situation quickly.’
Police investigate the laneway near where the man was arrested
Asked whether she understood why some Victorians didn’t feel safe in the CBD, Premier Allan said: ‘I can understand for those in the area this morning, it would have been a concern.’
‘I do understand that when incidents do occur, it would be incredibly distressing to either the witness to those sort of instances or indeed … if that happened to you more directly.’
