Brave shoppers try to save victims from axe-wielding man at Rosebud Plaza
Terrified shoppers valiantly risked their lives to stop an axe-wielding man’s violent rampage at Rosebud Plaza with shocked witnesses describing the horror moment they saw a man repeatedly stab two victims and rush at terrified witnesses.
Police & Courts
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An axe-wielding man went on a violent rampage at a suburban shopping centre this morning, repeatedly stabbing two men and rushing at terrified witnesses.
The man, aged in his late 40s, repeatedly stabbed the two victims with a tomahawk axe outside Rosebud Plaza, on McCombs St at around 10.15am.
The first victim, a 47-year-old Rosebud man, has been taken to the Alfred Hospital in a serious condition after he was violently assaulted at the entrance of the Coles carpark on McCombs St.
The Herald Sun understands the victim was just seconds away from his home and was attacked as he walked to the nearby bottle shop where he worked.
Several witnesses to the horrific incident shouted at the offender from the nearby carpark in a bid to stop the attack.
The man then proceeded to run at the witnesses with the deadly weapon before he changed his course and began to attack a 63-year-old man.
The man has been airlifted to The Alfred Hospital in a serious but stable condition.
One witness, Grant Perry, revealed the terrifying moment the attacker came towards him after he yelled at him to stop repeatedly stabbing the first victim.
“I heard the guy screaming and then I saw a guy hitting what I thought was a hammer into someone’s head,” Mr Perry said.
“I ran out of my car and yelled out, I took the guys attention away.
“When the guy turned around and looked at me, he seemed fairly stunned. He looked almost like he was in shock from what he had done. He didn’t look right.
“He didn’t say a word the whole time.
The 57-year-old added: “I made him come towards me to get him away from the guy and then he disappeared. The poor guy was in a pretty bad way.”
Police have described the frenzied attacks as random and are still investigating the circumstances around the attack.
Over 20 people who were at the busy shopping centre on Saturday morning are believed to have witnessed the horrendous incident.
Several car windows were smashed during the five minute rampage.
After witnessing the first assault, a local taxi driver got into his cab and locked the doors for safety.
The axe-wielding man then broke through his window with the weapon but luckily, the taxi driver escaped with just a few scratches from broken glass.
“I’m not sure where he came from but he attacked someone [at the entrance of the Coles carpark] and then he walked on and tried to hit another guy, who ran inside the shopping centre,” he said.
“I got inside my cab, locked the doors, and he came towards me with the axe in his hand and hit the window. It smashed everywhere.
“Then he left and hit the second man down at the plaza.
He added: “I’m alright but at the time, it was a panicked situation. I feel sorry for the two guys who’ve been seriously injured.
“There was no expression on his face. It was like normal - there was no anger.”
Sergeant Sarah Blackmore described the brave onlookers as “good samaritans”.
“There were definitely people who were trying to intervene and defect attention from the victims to try and get him to stop, so there were definitely some good samaritans that were trying to help and assist in stopping the attack,” she said.
“It was an extremely dangerous thing to do - I would not suggest for anyone to do it - but it was very brave.
“It certainly stopped the attention that was on the victims.”
Zoe Tracy, who lives around the corner from the Plaza, was out for a bike ride at the time of the incident when police told her to go home immediately and lock all doors.
“I saw all the helicopters, ambulances and police everywhere, I live right around the corner,” the 16-year-old said.
“I was riding my bike with my dog at the time and the police came up to me and told me to stay inside and lock all the doors.
“It was so scary hearing the cops say that. When they said that, I just started freezing.”
Police have removed all evidence from the scene and Rosebud Plaza has been reopened.
Rosebud Police will allege the man’s violent streak only stopped when they arrested him where he was stabbing the older victim.
Anyone who witnessed the incident or with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or make a confidential report at www.crimestoppersvic.com.
More to come.