Melbourne teens filmed attacking shop owners on quiet Sunday morning
A quiet Sunday morning in a usually family friendly suburb quickly devolved into chaos when a group of masked youths allegedly attempted to rob several businesses.
A quiet Sunday morning in Melbourne’s Bentleigh East erupted into chaos when a group of masked youths allegedly attempted to rob several neighbouring businesses, leaving local shopkeepers shaken as they attempted to defend their livelihoods.
The incident unfolded around 8.30am on Chesterville Road, a usually calm shopping strip in the heart of a family-friendly Melbourne suburb.
What began as routine errands for locals quickly escalated into violent confrontations, captured on mobile phones as traders and community members banded together to push back against the mob.
A Current Affair reporter Marty King captured the footage while running errands. The shocking scene caught on his phone camera led the program’s Wednesday episode.
Witnesses described scenes of mayhem as a group of young people stormed through multiple stores.
Mark, the owner of the local FoodWorks, said the group stole alcohol from his shop before attacking him when he attempted a citizen’s arrest.
“They started to attack me,” he said, showing a blackened, bloodshot eye. “I’m afraid if they come back.”
Just next door, Craig from Marbled Meats said he was also targeted in the frenzy.
As the situation escalated, traders and bystanders put themselves between the youths and their businesses. Some shouted at the group to stop, while others physically intervened.
Masked teens were seen taunting and intimidating shopkeepers, but the traders refused to back down.
“Grow up! Stop!” one local yelled as tensions boiled over.
Nearby barber Bruno, who has worked on the strip for 37 years, said he witnessed a young girl breaking a bottle to create a weapon.
“What I saw was just wrong,” he said. “She broke a bottle to get the edge on the bottle to go after (them).”
Victoria Police confirmed they were already investigating similar behaviour by the same group at a nearby Ampol service station when the incident unfolded.
The servo manager told Channel 9 the business had been robbed three times in three months.
Officers arrested several teens at the scene. A 16-year-old boy and two girls aged 14 and 15 were issued cautions. Two male staff members were treated for minor injuries.
The confrontation has left traders questioning what more can be done.
“Where are their parents?” one asked. “They should be dragged down here.”
Crime officially out of control
Damning statistics released in September confirmed what Victorians already knew – crime is out of control, as one of the state’s top cops says the status quo cannot continue.
Data from the Crime Statistics Agency released on Thursday showed 638,640 criminal offences were recorded in the 12 months to the end of June 2025 – up 86,587 offences or 15.7 per cent.
When population growth was taken into account, the crime rate rose by 13.8 per cent to 8998.9 offences per 100,000 people.
The fastest growing areas of crime were stealing from cars, theft of vehicles, shoplifting, other theft offences and family violence.
The statistics back up growing outrage among communities in Melbourne and regional Victoria, where home invasions, carjackings and knife crime have become common.
Young offenders were significantly over-represented in serious and violent crimes, accounting for 66.2 per cent of robberies, 47.7 per cent of aggravated burglaries and 26.4 per cent of car theft. That was despite making up just 12.8 per cent of all offenders.
Victoria Police said the data showed 1128 child offenders, aged 10–17, were arrested a combined 7118 times, with total arrests increasing by 26.7 per cent.
“There were 149 less child offenders in the reporting period, indicating that repeat offenders are driving the arrest numbers,” it said in a statement.
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Originally published as Melbourne teens filmed attacking shop owners on quiet Sunday morning
