Manhunt underway after Albion Park Police Station rammed, two cars set alight
Police are piecing together a series of bizarre events that occurred on Wednesday morning, after a police holding yard was rammed, and two cars destroyed.
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A manhunt is underway south of Wollongong, after a police holding facility was rammed, and two cars, one of which was involved in a police investigation, were set alight in the early hours of Wednesday morning.
The chain of bizarre events unfolded around 4.50am on January 8, when a Holden Commodore rammed the gates of a Albion Park Police Station’s vehicle holding facility.
After breaking through two electric fences, the occupants set one of the cars in the lot alight, waking nearby neighbours and sending them into a panic.
“I was frightened it (the fire) would get into the other cars, especially with these bushfires we’ve had, I was scared it would spread,” nearby resident Ken Neill said.
Emergency services were quick to attend and extinguished the blaze, however the car was totally destroyed.
The Commodore was held in a lot which stores seized vehicles and those undergoing forensic examination, and while they wouldn’t confirm whether this was a targeted attack, police did reveal the now-destroyed vehicle had been in the lot for about two years, and was involved in a “long-term” investigation.
Minutes after the first car went up in flames, another car was found alight 500m down the road, in the driveway of popular wedding venue, Ravensthorpe.
Lake Illawarra Police Acting Inspector Matt Brophey said investigators believed the second car was used in the police station ramming and subsequent car fire.
“Police have got forensic services involved this morning to conduct further inquiries and that is a line of investigation we will be following,” he said.
“The second car was not reported stolen at the time of the incident and we believe because of the close proximity that it was involved.”
While the brazen attack occurred at a police station, it was not manned by officers at the time, making the hunt for the person or people involved more difficult for investigators.
“We would appeal for any person in the community that does have information about this incident, anything at all, to contact Crimestoppers or Lake Illawarra police station,” Acting Inspector Brophey said.