A 59-year-old woman has been left traumatised after the home she was house sitting was broken into and ransacked by eight aggressive African youths.
The woman was looking after her niece’s property in Hillside, north west of Melbourne, when she became a victim of the gang’s violent overnight crime spree.
The thugs allegedly grabbed her ‘by the scruff of the neck’ after smashing their way in through a glass door.
The woman’s niece recalled how the terrifying encounter played out, explaining how it had left her feeling unsafe in her own home.
A Melbourne home was completely ransacked and a 59-year-old woman physically assaulted when an aggressive African youth gang went on a violent crime rampage Thursday night
‘They threw her down in the lounge, and one or two people were over the top of her and they ransacked my house,’ she told Seven News.
‘She’s traumatised, they gave her a smack to the mouth, she’s just very shaken up.’
‘(It) makes me feel like my home’s not my home, (and) makes me feel very unsafe.’
The violent assault was one of many for the brazen clan Thursday night, with them making their way across the city after stealing the 59-year-old’s car.
They bashed a boy with a baseball bat about 9.30pm in Taylor Hills before making their way to Hillside about 11.30pm.
Just after midnight, they attacked and mugged a boy who was walking down the street in Cairnlea, before breaking into and robbing another home in Delahey.
Police caught sight of the gang inside the woman’s vehicle about 1.30am, before being led on a goose chase.
Police caught sight of the gang inside the woman’s vehicle about 1.30am, before being led on a goose chase towards Sunshine, where the vehicle eventually crashed
The woman’s niece (pictured) recalled how the terrifying encounter played out, explaining how it had left her feeling unsafe in her own home
They eventually crashed in Sunshine and fled the scene on foot, and police officers were unable to catch any of them.
The string of vicious attacks came just days after Victoria Police warned such ‘thuggish behaviour’ would not be tolerated.
‘These are horrendous offences, no member of our community should be a victim of these types of offences,’ Victoria Police Commander Russell Barrett said.
‘This is incredibly concerning, the behaviours are abhorrent. It’s just thuggish behaviour by young people in our community who have no apparent care for the rights and wellbeing of their fellow citizens.’
‘We’re not saying it’s organised, but we’re certainly saying they’re behaving in street gang behaviours,’ Commander Barrett said.
‘Our intent is to arrest these young people and to lock them up,’ Commander Barrett said.
Victoria Police Commander Russell Barrett said ‘no member of our community should be a victim of these types of offences’