Footage shows teen’s dramatic arrest following CBD rampage outside Flinders Street station
A TRAIL of terror led by a rampaging teen before his dramatic arrest in Melbourne’s CBD on AFL Grand Final Day has been caught on camera. The footage shows the teen speeding along the Monash Fwy, tearing through the city streets and narrowly missing pedestrians and cyclists.
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DRAMATIC footage capturing the lead up and the arrest of a teen who tried to mow down pedestrians in an AFL Grand Final day car rampage can be shown for the first time.
The explosive footage can be released by the Herald Sun exclusively after the boy pleaded guilty to his terrifying acts in a Children’s Court on Thursday.
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Police shut down parts of Flinders St following AFL Grand Final car incident
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The lead up to the 15-year-old boy’s arrest shows a car speeding along the Monash Fwy, tearing through the city streets and narrowly missing pedestrians and cyclists.
A man filming the event on his iPhone is almost hit on Swanston St, moments before the car stops at the Flinders St intersection.
One man runs to the drivers’ side window, while another throws an O Bike at the stationary vehicle, before smashing the passenger’s side window.
The boy then exits the stolen vehicle dressed in full combat gear and armed with a knife and bicycle pump outside Flinders St train station.
As police circled in, the boy, wearing a backpack, paced up and down, disobeying their requests to drop the weapon and lie on the ground.
When an officer got close enough and sprayed the boy with pepper spray, the teen charged at him, causing the policeman to fall backwards on the tram tracks.
Two other officers then rushed in, tackling the boy to the ground, while CIRT officers hit him with a stun gun.
The brave efforts of the officers were commended in court, with Prosecutor Mark Gibson SC saying they did not know who or what they were dealing with at the time.
“The uniformed officers executed appropriate restraint and tremendous bravery,” Mr Gibson said.
“They didn’t know at that time, what was in the backpack ... whether it contained an improvised explosive device or incendiary weapon.
“But for their approach, the end result may have been a lot different.”
The boy’s arrest brought to an end to more than 30 minutes of terror, where he drove at pedestrians and cyclists, doing skids and running red lights in the CBD.
The court heard the boy had viewed the live online webcam for Federation Square at 6.43am before leaving his home in Melbourne’s eastern suburbs on September 30.
CCTV cameras observed him driving erratically along a busy freeway, weaving in and out of traffic, as he made his way into the city.
The teen, who cannot be identified, pleaded guilty to two counts each of reckless conduct endangering life and reckless conduct endangering persons, as well as assault on an emergency worker and unlicensed driving.
Eight charges, including two counts of attempted murder, were dropped.
Mr Gibson made it clear in court the incident was not terror-related.
The court heard the boy was deaf and mute and had “complex needs” which were only brought to the attention of authorities following this incident.
It was revealed he had been kept isolated in his home, where his family did not know how to communicate with him.
He was also neglected as a child and “deprived of appropriate levels of food”.
“It’s most unfortunate that it’s taken these events to bring his problems to light,” his lawyer told the court.
She said it was believed he acted out and stole the car after his father had denied his requests to buy him a mobile phone the night before.
An earlier court hearing heard the boy’s tablet computer contained 21,000 images including of vests, body armour, hand grenades, guns and rocket launchers.
A police search of his home also found a map of Melbourne CBD hanging on his bedroom wall, along with other military and police-related cuttings.
Judge Amanda Chambers said it was “very serious offending that placed the community in fear” but that she would unlikely lock the boy up in a youth detention centre.
Mr Gibson agreed that police would not be pushing for immediate detention.
He suggested she consider a youth supervision order, while his lawyer wanted him to be placed on a less accountable, probation order.
He will return to court to be sentenced on March 14.