This is the moment a bride and groom stumble out of their wedding reception after an out-of-control mob of teenagers put a sudden end to their special day.
Kareem and Hiba’s reception plunged into chaos when up to 40 teenage girls gatecrashed their celebration in Brunswick, Melbourne’s north on July 20.
Panicked guests left the Almina Function Centre in tears and in pain just after midnight after they were fired with pepper spray, leaving them temporarily blinded.
The groom, wearing a black singlet following the chaos inside, is seen escorting his distraught bride from the venue after police stormed in.
Panicked guests left the Almina Function Centre in tears and in pain just past midnight after they were fired with pepper spray, leaving them temporarily blinded
Kareem and Hiba’s special day plunged into chaos when up to 40 teenage girls gatecrashed their celebration in Brunswick, Melbourne’s north on July 20
The groom is seen with his hands firmly on his head in disbelief, while the bride sits on a ledge covered in a blanket next to an ambulance van
In another image, Kareem is seen with his hands firmly on his head in disbelief, while his wife sits on a ledge covered in a blanket next to an ambulance van.
Kareem and Hiba had just had their first dance before the wild scenes erupted.
The youths had been kicked out at a nearby party at a AirBnb rental, before heading to the wedding reception.
They stormed into the venue swearing and screaming, sparking a violent clash between guests and gatecrashers, police said.
Dozens of officers rushed to the scene, played the Sydney Road in lockdown – and used pepper spray in an attempt to end the chaos.
‘Look at the bride, look at the groom… pepper sprayed for no reason,’ a woman filming outside was heard saying.
Hiba, the bride, said what was meant to be her special day turned into the ‘worst night’ of her life.
‘The wedding was like going from such happiness and excitement and so much fun to – it was like hell,’ she told A Current Affair.
Kareem and Hiba had just had their first dance before their dream wedding was ruined
Both the bride and groom, who didn’t want their last names revealed, said children and elderly guests were among those who were hit with pepper spray.
One guest, Stefanie, watched her seven-year-old daughter cry to her mum saying: ‘Mama, I can’t see, my eyes, mama, I can’t see.’
The child had to be treated by paramedics.
Hiba’s 62-year-old mother, Douha, has taken several trips to hospital and has suffered from breathing difficulties since the incident.
‘I thought my mother was going to die,’ Hiba said.
Several guests could be heard screaming in agony and were seen desperately washing their faces with water and saline.
Dozens of officers rushed to the scene, played the Sydney Road in lockdown – and used pepper spray in an attempt to end the chaos
‘To tell you the truth I thought I was going to die,’ Hiba said.
‘I don’t wish it upon anyone. It was the worst feeling.’
Kareem added: ‘Instead of tears of joy… they had tears of pain.
‘Even though we’ve got beautiful memories in that wedding … I’ll always remember that joy and love until that part of that night.’
Jeremy King, the principal of law firm Robinson Gill lawyers, said the force police use needs to match the level of threat.
‘OC Spray is really serious stuff – I can’t emphasise that enough, and it can have really serious consequences on people, particularly if you’re elderly,’ he said.
Two 16-year-old girls among the group of gatecrashes were arrested and investigations are ongoing.
A Victoria Police spokeswoman told Daily Mail Australia: ‘Police responded to reports of offensive behaviour on a tram in Sydney Road which was stopped near the intersection of Stewart Street.’
‘It is understood a group of females who had been moved on from the disruptive party, exited the tram and became involved in an altercation with a group of people leaving a private function at a reception centre on Sydney Road about 12.10am.
‘Police, including Public Order Response Team officers, attended the scene and used capsicum spray to break up the parties after they became aggressive.’
A number of bystanders had been affected by the spray but were treated at the scene.
A 16-year-old girl was arrested but was later released.
Another 16-year-old girl was arrested and received a penalty for offensive behaviour.
The investigation continues.
Both the bride and groom, who didn’t want their last names revealed, said children and elderly guests were among those who were hit with pepper spray