Witness tells of ‘movie-style’ gang attack
A family that witnessed Sunday’s horrific gang attack in Zillmere described it as “a pure massacre”, saying the victims didn’t stand a chance as the attackers formed a line and then carried out what looked like a pre-planned series of steps armed with machetes and bottles before bodies fell to the ground.
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A family that witnessed Sunday’s horrific fatal gang attack in Zillmere unfold has described the ordeal as “a pure massacre”.
The attack left one dead, two critically injured and up to six others badly hurt in the attack near North Star Footy Club, at O’Callaghan Park, around 5.35pm.
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Of the critically injured men, one was on Monday night on life support in a critical but stable condition.
He is expected to undergo further surgery on Tuesday.
The other remains in hospital in a stable condition, after improving on Monday.
“They didn’t stand a chance,” one of the Zillmere residents, who was too fearful to be identified said.
“You could tell it was pre-planned. They executed it like it was out of a movie. They came in this formation of a tight straight line then they split up. One went left, the next (went) right, the next (went) left just like that, and then they ambushed them … They snuck up from behind and the group sitting there had no idea what was about to happen.
“(We heard) screaming, just screaming. There were bodies everywhere.”
A relative of the woman, who was visiting at the time, said he had seen who he called “the leader” of the attacking group around the area in the days prior.
He said he’d spoken about the “new men in town” with other residents, and said he’d thought something was amiss.
“I’d said to the other blokes (in the community) that there were new men in town. I hadn’t seen the attackers before but I did notice them three or so days ago … The guy who was at the front of the line yesterday – a real tall, big man – had been around.”
The man said he’d seen the victims on numerous occasions, and said they’d often sit in the family park in a small group.
He said they’d never caused any trouble, and would often sit talking and drinking together.
According to both the man and woman – who now wants to move homes as a result of the attack – the group came in armed with machetes and glass bottles.
“The first guy, the leader, went to the right, the next guy to the left and they split up and ambushed them,” the man said.
“They had nowhere to go and they couldn’t run away. They were throwing the glass bottles at them and the bottles were exploding over their heads.
“You could tell they’ve trained for this. They were all running fast and in a single line. They were fast.”
The pair said the victims were trying to run away, however were mostly “cornered in”.
The man said for those who managed to get away initially were pulled back into the fight by the attacking group.
The woman added, “they had no way out, those fellas”.
“We could see the bodies laying. They were dropping and collapsing, body after body just collapsing. They tried to defend themselves but they had no hope. It was a perfect ambush … They pretty much snuck in and got them good … it was a pure massacre. That’s the only way to describe it. A massacre.
“These people knew what they were after and nothing was going to stop them.”
One woman, who was having the interview translated by her daughter Aashma Timalsima, said she was walking her dog through the dog park when she heard screaming and “saw a man jumping on another man’s chest”.
“It was scary,” Ms Timalsima said on behalf of her mum, who has lived near the field for the last three years.
“There was screaming and at one point she thought (the man) was being attacked.”
“She said she saw someone jumping on the man’s chest, it was scary because it’s the park we normally walk through.”
Ms Timalsima said her mother heard one of the people in the group shout out “he’s no more, he’s no more”.
“She didn’t know what it meant at first but realised the man had died. She ran home with the dog after that because another man in the park said to her that it wasn’t safe to be there. They both ran away.”
The family’s relative said the gate that would allow paramedics and police access to the injured group was locked and unable to be open.
The man said the council gate, which should have a master key carried by emergency services, was unable to be open. As a result, he said paramedics were forced to break entry into the gate and carry their equipment – including a defibrillator- by hand to the critically injured men.
“This one paramedic was strolling along and one of the men ran up to them from inside and told them something, then she started walking faster and then she started running,” the man said.
“She was yelling out to the rest of them (emergency services).
“She was running back, then heaps of them were all sprinting in through the gate, running so fast. Heaps of ‘em. They had to carry all the machines and that by hand to the men on the ground because they couldn’t get in (in the ambulance.)”
The female witness said her “whole life has been changed” after witnessing the “very horrible and hard thing to see”.
“A lot of lives have been changed because of that,” she said.
“It’s a hard thing to see and to know that they were kids too, just 20 years of age is so young.
“I just get so nervous. They’re a bit intimidating.
“I don’t leave the house after a certain time, and now I think I’ll move here and start with a new fresh scenery. I don’t want to be here anymore. It’s just really scared me.”
