A man terrifyingly barricaded himself into a young girl’s bedroom with a gun while a father and his one-year-old son napped in the family’s home in Melbourne, Australia
A father and his infant son were napping when a rifle-wielding stranger trapped them in their own home.
The dad, known only as Ali, was sleeping with his one-year-old son in their home in Weir Views, near Melton on the outskirts of Melbourne, yesterday when a man broke in. The suspect, a 26-year-old male, barricaded himself in the daughter’s bedroom and terrifyingly told Ali: “I have a gun and I will kill you if you come inside”.
Ali, a father of five, said he awoke from his nap to find the man had locked himself inside his daughter’s room. He recalled: “My wife went to pick up my kids from the school and I was sleeping with my youngest son. One of my daughters’ bedrooms was locked and I tried to open [it].” Ali was then threatened and held hostage with his tot.
Ali and his son were forced to wait for hours while police negotiated with the suspect. Eventually, the pair were able to escape through a broken window, from which cops carried them to safety. Aerial footage captured the moment the father and son fled the home and into a police officer’s arms. Thankfully, neither Ali nor his son were injured during the standoff.
“I’m lucky … he could shoot my son, can shoot me… Thank god we are safe and police definitely did a good job,” he said. Police locked down the area and called in the special operations group and critical incident response quickly, which likely prevented more bloodshed, Michael Cruse, superintendent for Victoria Police, said.
According to eyewitnesses, the suspect was exhibiting strange behaviour before entering the home, with one saying he was jumping on the trampoline outside. Cruse said: “He was behaving erratically in the backyard of the premises.”
At one point, cops returned fire after the suspect let off a volley of shots at officers. They also deployed a police dog to help take him down. Cruse said: “We will allege that a further shot was fired inside the house. At that point, a tactical entry of the house has taken place. We allege a further shot was fired towards the police team. They were able to deploy a police dog.”
Neighbours were told to stay in their homes during the two-and-a-half-hour siege, as they heard loud booms and screaming. “When they raided the house it was just chaotic”, said one resident. “You heard the glass smashing, canines barking, people yelling obviously then we heard this blast and more glass smashing. Ali’s son was just screaming, it was horrific. As a mother it was horrific to hear.”
The man is currently in hospital under police guard after suffering a dog bite injury during the arrest. Cruse paid tribute to the bravery of the officers involved. He said: “I’m extremely proud of the police that were present yesterday. They did a fantastic job and they showed bravery and courage in the execution of their duties, they should be applauded.”
The superintendent added that the man was armed with a high-powered rifle and did not have a firearms license. He said the 26-year-old from Snake Valley was expected to be released from hospital today, where he will be interviewed by police and potentially charged.
The man had allegedly hijacked a car from an elderly woman in the nearby town of Snake Valley before driving to Melton at around 2.30pm local time. He is alleged to have attempted a second carjacking when he arrived at the location. Cruse said he failed to steal the second vehicle and was tracked to Ali’s street, where he allegedly fired shots at police.
