Offender’s arm catches fire during ram raid of Melbourne electric bike store

A fire was caused as a result of the ramming, with one of the offenders’ arms catching fire.

An offender’s arm has caught fire following the alleged ram raid of an electric bike shop in Melbourne’s inner-north.

The garage door of a Lygon Street business in Brunswick was rammed about 2.55am on Tuesday.

It’s believed a stolen black BMW X5 was used to ram the garage door two or three times before the unknown offenders entered the store.

Police and fire fighters at the scene in Brunswick East where a ram raid on a bike shop has resulted in a fire. Tuesday, October 15. 2024. Picture: NewsWire/ David Crosling

A Fire Rescue Victoria spokesperson confirmed crews responded to multiple calls this morning after an electric bike store was set alight.

“FRV crews arrived on scene in four minutes and escalated FRV’s response,” the spokesperson said.

There was a pile of destroyed bikes outside the shop. Picture: NewsWire/ David Crosling

About 24 firefighters extinguished the car fire and were able to contain the blaze before it spread to the gym on the second floor of the building.

The arm of one of the offenders caught fire in the blaze.

The offenders ditched the stolen car before fleeing the scene, with the group last seen running towards Nicholson Street.

Police confirmed the fire caused “significant damage” to the building, however it’s unclear whether anything was stolen from the store.

The car is believed to have been stolen from a Heatherton address on October 3.

An investigation into the incident has been launched, with police urging anyone with information to come forward.