Policeman injured, home trashed at wild Werribee party
A WESTERN suburbs gang took over a Werribee house that had been rented by four girls before trashing it during a wild party and throwing rocks and poles at police. Investigators have linked the gang to other out-of-control parties.
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ROOMS have been trashed during a wild party in Werribee that only ended when riot police were called in.
Rocks and metal poles were thrown at officers as the out-of-control house party turned violent overnight, with the dried residue from riot police capsicum spray marking walls and blinds.
Neighbours were left traumatised after the gang of thugs left houses and cars in Attunga Grove damaged and a policeman injured.
DID YOU SEE THE WILD PARTY? SEND YOUR PICTURES AND VIDEO TO: news@heraldsun.com.au
ALTONA BEACHFRONT HOUSE TRASHED
Police say four girls rented out the house on Airbnb and word spread of an open house during a basketball tournament this week.
It’s understood a western suburbs gang known as Menace To Society gatecrashed the house and allegedly assaulted two 17-year-old girls.
The house has since been taken down from Airbnb.
Airbnb said in a statement the girls who rented the house had been banned.
“Airbnb has zero tolerance for this kind of behaviour, which goes against everything our community stands for,” the statement read.
“We have permanently banned these individuals from our platform and are fully supporting our host. Our team has also reached out to local law enforcement to offer our assistance with their investigation. We hope justice is served quickly. To date, there have been over 260 million guest arrivals in Airbnb listings worldwide and negative incidents like this are incredibly rare.”
Police believe other out-of-control parties, in Altona, Williams Landing and Werribee are all linked to the same group.
Inside the house a book shelf has been tagged with “Apex” and “MTS” graffiti.
Cupboards have also been damaged.
One witness described the scene after the party being like a “war zone”.
Neighbours have told the Herald Sun bus loads of more than 100 people of African appearance between the ages of 14 and early 20s woke up their street demanding to know where the party was.
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“They were banging on our doors yelling, ‘wake up’,” one neighbour, who wished to remain anonymous, said.
The mother said she witnessed the gang of thugs take stones from her home and others, to use as weapons.
“They were out-of-control, they were using these rocks and sticks as weapons against the police and against us as innocent residents,” she explained.
“It’s absolutely disgusting, and frightening, we shouldn’t have to deal with this type of thing.”
Imtiaz Rahman said the commotion started at 1.30am and “got worse as the hours went on”.
“They were screaming abuse, swearing and throwing rocks at houses and cars,” he said.
“My car has been completely smashed in. I’m so scared.”
Riot police were called in to break up the violent party a short time later but the teen thugs fled to neighbouring streets to continue the violence.
A policeman suffered a minor elbow injury during the melee but no one was arrested at the scene.
Police sergeant Matt Kershaw said the gang had gatecrashed a house rented by four girls.
“These guys said to them, ‘if you call the police, we’re going to bash you’”,” detective Sergeant Matt Kershaw said.
“That’s when things escalated. They pulled their hair and were just being awful.”
Wyndham police Inspector Martin Allison said there was severe damage to the property, including the walls, furniture and most of the house.
“This behaviour is completely unacceptable,” Insp Martin Allison said.
“The message we need to get out to the community, and particularly to the people who behaved so appallingly is that they’ll be held accountable.”
Insp Allison confirmed African youths had been involved in the wild party.
A basketball tournament for African youth was being held in the area yesterday.
The competition attracts 64 teams from across Australia and a player had previously been drafted to the NBA from the tournament.
“There’s no evidence at all that any of these athletes were part of this incident,” Insp Allison said.
“This is not about ethnicity, it’s about behaviour,” he said in an earlier interview on 3AW.
A passer-by has described the scene this morning as a “war zone”.
Robert told 3AW pickets had been pulled from the nature strip and rubbish was strewn across the street.
The newly-built Werribee home was listed for rent on Airbnb for $140 per night.
The clean and bright family-sized home is fitted with modern conveniences and has kept a five star rating through top reviews from dozens of previous holidaymakers who have stayed at the property.
The owner, who lives in Melbourne’s northeast, has been notified by police.
The wild party was one of two in Melbourne last night.
About 40 revellers were also booted from a rented apartment in Docklands after reports of a noisy party and bottles being thrown from the balcony.
Police were called to Caravel Lane about 11.30pm last night.
The group left on police request and remained outside the complex for some time.
Police continued to patrol the area due to more noise complaints before all revellers left.
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