Mother fears she was ‘moments away’ from being carjacked at Westfield Fountain Gate
A Melbourne mum believes she was moments from being carjacked at Westfield Fountain Gate — until the youths who approached her looked inside the vehicle. The shocking ordeal is the latest in a spate of worrying incidents at the centre.
South East
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A terrified woman who fears she was “moments away” from being carjacked at Westfield Fountain Gate has spoken out to warn others.
Mandi Hall said she was just getting into her car, parked near the NQR discount supermarket with her two children, when two teens approached her about 3.40pm on Tuesday, July 9.
One wedged his way between her and the passenger door.
“Someone came up right behind me and said ‘excuse me’ and then looked in the car and said ‘Sh-t, she’s got kids’,” Ms Hall said.
“I stood there shocked and they quickly fled off and a few seconds later I saw a police car drive by and thought that was weird.
“My son asked if they just tried to steal the car; I knew in that moment I was definitely moments away from being carjacked.”
Ms Hall said she was left shaken by the incident but determined to catch the pair.
She said she now felt unsafe and wouldn’t return to the shopping centre after the incident.
“I feel more comfortable with my children going to Cranbourne Park shopping centre rather than Fountain Gate because these young kids there are out of control,” she said.
“These teens are hanging out there and causing trouble … I would definitely like to see more police on the ground there to help people feel safer.”
Casey detective Senior Constable Alex Fiore said police weren’t treating the incident as an attempted carjacking, but noted the behaviour was “quite concerning”.
Sen-Constable Fiore said both men were described as being aged between 15 to 18, both of Middle Eastern appearance, dark hair, average height and wearing black puffer jackets.
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“From a police perspective we would like to have a discussion about what they said, especially given the fact there were kids in the car.”
The ordeal is the latest in a series of worrying incidents at and around the shopping centre.
In May, two girls were stabbed in a shocking fight near the centre, while Leader previously reported that traders were too scared to stop teens raiding their shops and wreaking havoc.
Sen-Constable Fiore said public order and transit teams had their eyes peeled around transport and social hubs.
“We understand the public has been quite concerned about going to these shopping centres but from a police perspective we want to reassure the community that we are taking these things extremely serious.”