Toddler rescued, man arrested in Melb suburban siege horror
An elite police dog was deployed against, and bit, a man who fired at officers before taking a Weir Views resident and toddler hostage on Tuesday — ultimately leading to his capture and arrest.
Police & Courts
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Heavily armed police arrested a man who fired at officers and took a toddler and man hostage at a home in Melbourne’s outer west.
Dramatic helicopter footage showed the moment a police officer rushed a toddler from the home into another officer’s arms, and then a male resident escaped the house moments later.
Emergency services converged on Leon Drive, Weir Views, south of Melton, on Tuesday afternoon after reports of a man armed with a firearm.
Police took down the 26-year-old man in Leon Drive just after 6pm, following the use of their highly-trained dog.
He was taken to hospital under police guard for treatment, after the dog bit him.
Police sources say the man allegedly committed a carjacking in Ballarat before heading to the newly built estate near Melton armed with a shotgun.
Horror scenes unfolded in the suburban street on Tuesday afternoon, with residents told to stay in their homes and away from windows, and heavily armed police seen positioned on a rooftop.
Residents reported seeing a man armed with a rifle in their backyard, and of a gate being smashed through.
Helicopter video footage shows heroic, elite police rushing the man and child held hostage to safety after negotiating with him.
Police said in a statement released late on Tuesday night a vehicle, believed to have been stolen in a carjacking at Snake Gully near Ballarat earlier in the day, was spotted in the Melton area about 3.40pm.
The vehicle was monitored by the Police Air Wing to Leon Drive, where the man got out of the car and fired shots at officers, but did not physically injure them.
The armed man then entered a home with two people — a man and a toddler he did not know — inside.
Police negotiated with the offender, and the man and toddler were able to leave the property uninjured.
The man then shot at police again, with police returning fire, and the police dog was deployed.
Dramatic helicopter footage shows the moment the toddler was rushed from the home and into a police officer’s arms before the male resident also escapes.
Members of the Special Operations Group (SOG) — highly trained in dealing with armed and dangerous offenders — were poised on a neighbouring roof.
Amanda McGregor, who lives directly next door to the house where the siege took place, said she was out picking up her child from daycare when the chaos unfolded.
“I think they have jumped my fence to get to the next door, my neighbour also said she saw a lot of commotion at the front of the property at first,” she said.
Ms McGregor said her neighbour, Ali, whose home was held up in the siege, was a “lovely” man.
“I don’t know how they have physically got into his house to keep him and his baby hostage,” she said.
“Thank God his wife wasn’t there.
“He is absolutely lovely, and he would probably have been resting because he works at 3am in the mornings … he probably isn’t feeling great right now.”
Another woman said she saw the alleged offender enter her backyard before 5pm on Tuesday.
“A man armed with a rifle jumped into our backyard, we called the police,” she said.
Yet another Weir Views resident said police had “smashed open” their side gate and stormed the backyard as the resident remained locked inside “worried and scared”.
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