A man has described waking from a nap with his young child to find himself in a siege situation after an intruder armed with a high-powered rifle barricaded himself in his home in Melbourne’s outer west.
Police ended the siege on Tuesday afternoon by storming the house in Weir Views, south of Melton, and arresting the armed man, who allegedly had earlier stolen a car from a 70-year-old woman near Ballarat and fired shots at police.
A blurred image of Ali talking about the traumatic event on Tuesday.Credit: Nine News
Ali, who did not want his last name published, said he and his son, a toddler, were at home and napping when the intruder broke into their home on Leon Drive.
“As soon as he [woke] up, he was crying for Mum, and I took him and was looking for my wife,” he told Nine News. “I found she’s not at home and the rest of my kids were also not at home.
“But one of my daughters’ bedrooms was locked. I tried to open it and I heard a noise from someone inside saying, ‘I have a gun. I’ll kill you if you come inside’.”
Ali said he went back to his bedroom and called his wife, who by that stage was outside their home, where police had erected a barricade. He then called triple zero and was transferred to the officers outside, who had tracked the car to the Weir Views area using a police helicopter.
“I followed their instructions and, finally, they broke one of my windows and took my son out first, and then took me out,” he said. “It was very risky – he [the intruder] could have come out at any time.”
Ali and his son spent about 30 minutes in the house while the intruder was there.
As the pair were making their way to safety, police say the intruder, a 26-year-old from Snake Valley, west of Ballarat, fired shots inside the property prompting special operations officers to enter.
Mobile phone footage shows Ali being led out of the window before a loud explosion blasts open the front door and the officers storm the suburban home.
Superintendent Michael Cruse said the officers, who were met with another round of fire inside the property, deployed a police dog to take down the man, who at one point during the siege was also spotted behaving erratically in the backyard.
“The male offender was taken down and arrested and taken from the scene. He suffered a dog bite as a result of the incident,” Cruse said, adding that no officers were injured during the incident.
Cruse said one of the officers had fired a shot at the 26-year-old but did not hit him. The man was taken to Royal Melbourne Hospital for treatment, where he remained on Wednesday morning.
Aerial images of the scene obtained by Nine News show a man being treated by paramedics on a driveway surrounded by officers dressed in tactical gear. The man, who is only wearing socks and a pair of black shorts, has his hands tied behind his back and appears to have blood on his head.
“I’m extremely proud of the police that were present yesterday ... they did a fantastic job,” Cruse said. “They showed bravery and courage in execution of their duties and should be applauded.”
Ali said he and his family were deeply traumatised by the ordeal.
“If you are not facing this sort of situation, you won’t be able to understand what this is,” he said. “Imagine someone next to you with a gun, and you don’t know. Thank God, we are safe.”
Cruse said police were expecting to charge the man with multiple offences, including aggravated carjacking, attempted aggravated carjacking, aggravated burglary, conduct endangering life and firearm charges on Wednesday.
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