- Four men allegedly stole ‘more than a dozen’ handguns at Thornbury gun shop
- Thieves fled in a stolen white SUV dumped a short time later nearby
- Police are treating the robbery as a ‘high priority’ and say it was a targeted attack
- The gun shop describes itself on its website as Australia’s largest gun dealer.
Four men are still on the run following an alleged armed robbery at a Melbourne gun shop on Monday morning, which was described by police as a targeted attack.
Police said the armed men with facial coverings stormed the High Street store in Thornbury just after 11am, ransacked the store and stole a number of firearms.
The Herald Sun reported that the men were armed with a gun and a sledgehammer.
They fled in a stolen white SUV that was found dumped a short time later in nearby Clapham Street.
The armed men entered the High Street store in Thornbury just after 11am on Monday and stole a number of firearms. Detectives remained at the scene for most of the day.
O’Reilly’s Firearms describes itself on its website as Australia’s largest gun dealer. Pictured above are guns on display at the store.
A male staff member working at the store was not injured during the terrifying robbery.
Armed Crime Squad detectives are investigating and said a large number of handguns were stolen.
‘We do not know the exact number of firearms stolen…but we do know they were handguns,’ Assistant Commissioner Stephan Fontana said on Monday.
‘We’re putting all our resources into recovering these weapons and charging the offenders responsible.
Victorian detectives remained at the High Street scene in Thornbury for most of the day.
‘The offenders have done their planning and knew what they were looking for,’ Assistant Commissioner Stephan Fontana said.
‘We think there may be more than a dozen (guns stolen) … but I think it’s premature (to state a number) until we’ve done our full audit.’
‘The offenders have done their planning and knew what they were looking for.
‘They were targeting that shop to get those weapons.’
Police don’t have a description of the bandits and haven’t ruled out organised crime as a motive.
Police are viewing CCTV footage and speaking to shoppers in the area.
O’Reilly’s Firearms describes itself on its website as Australia’s largest gun dealer.
Armed Crime Squad detectives are investigating but say a large number of handguns were stolen.