The horrific incidents and attacks at Melbourne’s shopping centre car parks
Grabbing a carpark at a busy shopping centre in Melbourne’s suburbs can be a challenge, but for some people it can turn deadly.
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They’re the home of road rage, constant laps, and on busy days, the long and winding search to find an elusive spot.
And on some occasions, Melbourne’s shopping centre carparks have also been the scene of far more serious and sometimes deadly situations.
Here’s a look at some of the more chilling incidents that have taken place at suburban shopping centres around the city.
EASTLAND
A Croydon man was returning to his car at Eastland when he was set upon and repeatedly smashed in the head with a hammer.
Jackson Savage was arrested and charged with attempted murder following his attack on Kearne Cannon at the Ringwood shopping centre on March 10, 2018.
The court heard Savage recognised Mr Cannon as one of a group of men who allegedly attacked and robbed him a year earlier.
Mr Cannon spent five days at The Alfred hospital recovering from his injuries and lost most of the vision in his right eye.
Savage later pleaded guilty to charges of intentionally causing serious injury and weapon offences.
Justice Lex Lazry aid Savage’s guilty plea indicated remorse and led to the original charge of attempted murder being dropped.
He was sentenced in the Supreme Court in March 2019 to five years’ jail, with Justice Lazry making him eligible for parole after three years.
WESTFIELD DONCASTER
The death of David Dick at the hands of his samurai sword-wielding brother, Jonathan, sent shivers down the spines of shoppers in Melbourne’s east.
David’s body was found in a carpark near a gym at Westfield Doncaster on February 3, 2017, with a 150m trail of blood leading from the scene.
Jonathan stabbed David, 36, at least 20 times in the neck and head as his sibling lay on the ground fighting for his life.
He was arrested after spending two-and-a-half years on the run from police.
But during his trial, the court heard Jonathan had been suffering from untreated schizophrenia for years.
He was found not guilty of murder by reason of mental impairment in September 2020, and remains under court ordered supervision in a secure mental health facility.
MOORABBIN DFO
Tragedy struck near Moorabbin DFO last year when a Cheltenham dad was killed by an out-of-control car.
Scott Brownridge, 51, was believed to be helping an elderly woman load groceries into her car at Kingston Central Plaza, next to the DFO, when he was struck by a Toyota Corolla outside the ALDI supermarket.
Mr Brownridge was rushed to hospital but later died from his injuries.
Two other cars were also damaged in the July 29 incident.
The driver of the car, an 83-year-old man, was interviewed by police and released pending further inquiries.
A GoFundMe established following Mr Brownridge’s death raised $75,000 to support his wife, Tammy, and his two children, Shakima and Zane.
CHADSTONE
Australia’s biggest shopping centre has seen its fair share of incidents while shoppers have been spending up big at Melbourne’s fashion capital.
In May 2013, the body of a 29-year-old man was found by workers in Chadstone’s David Jones carpark off Dandenong Rd.
Police established a crime scene and found no obvious sign of injury.
The same area was impacted on December 20, 2018 when a car fire led to the evacuation of the centre during the busy pre-Christmas sales rush.
The fire spread to nearby cars and closed carparks near Dandenong Rd and Chadstone Rd for hours.
At the time, there were rumours the fire was a planned terrorist incident, which proved to be unfounded.
VERMONT SOUTH SHOPPING CENTRE
A teenager was left disabled after a blundered ambush attempt at Vermont South Shopping Centre in 2015.
Two cars chased each other through the carpark at the shopping centre on Burwood Highway as part of the allegedly planned attack on August 19 at 9.20pm.
Police believed the incident centred around a drugs dispute and the occupants inside the two cars planned to ambush a third car.
As the occupants tried to carry out the ambush, a 19-year-old Cheltenham man travelling in the first car was accidentally shot by a man in the other car with a firearm.
The victim was dropped off at Knox Private Hospital and received treatment for serious injuries which had left him disabled.
FOUNTAIN GATE
The Narre Warren shopping centre, which has had the biggest increase in crime at Melbourne centres in recent years, was the scene of a terrifying attack on a bakery worker last year.
The worker was waiting for a bus in the centre’s carpark when he was approached by Dandenong thug Shok Adutmou on July 12 about 9pm.
The County Court heard Adutmou was high on Xanax and ice when he sat down next
next to the worker, asked him how his day was and then demanded his mobile phone.
He then threatened the worker with a box cutter knife and punched him up to seven times before the worker broke free and fled the scene.
Adutmou was found by police and arrested half an hour later, 300m from the bus stop.
Judge Kevin Doyle sentenced him on December 9 to one year and six months’ prison with a non-parole period of nine months.
HIGHPOINT
The Boxing Day sales turned nasty at Maribyrnong’s Highpoint in 2018 when a “scary” fight broke out between men over a parking spot.
Witnesses claimed “everyone lost it” and a man was left bleeding on the ground following a tussle in one of the centre’s carparks near homewares stores.
There were also reports of screaming and a man reaching through a car window to take “swings” at the driver.
The alleged attacker was arrested by police and taken into custody for questioning, while the victim was taken to hospital with minor injuries.
BRIMBANK SHOPPING CENTRE
Teens and the Pacific Islander community in Melbourne’s west were plunged into mourning when 15-year-old Solomone Taufeulungaki was murdered in at a knife attack in Deer Park.
The June 16, 2020 incident was believed to have started outside Brimbank Shopping Centre, where Taufeulungaki was set upon and stabbed by a group of youths.
He died at the scene, and another brawl between up to 30 people broke out later in the evening.
It was believed the attack occurred following a dispute on social media.
A total of nine people were arrested over the two incidents, and police deployed extra officers and security at Taufeulungaki’s high school in Melbourne’s west to deal with any reprisal attacks.
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