Police probe links between synagogue and nightclub firebombing, including ‘communal crime car’
The Synagogue firebombing may be linked to arson attack on South Yarra nightclub, police have revealed | VIDEO
Police have uncovered links between the firebombing of the Adass Israel Synagogue and an arson attack on a Melbourne nightclub as detectives revealed a “communal crime car” was used in both attacks.
In a major development in the six-month investigation into the anti-Semitic attack that shocked Melbourne’s Jewish community, police swooped on two men on Thursday suspected over the South Yarra nightclub attack.
Detectives are now investigating whether the Lux nightclub incident was linked in some way to the synagogue firebombing as the same stolen blue VW Golf is believed to have been used in both the nightclub arson on November 21 and the synagogue firebombing on December 6.
Victoria Police Counter Terrorism Command Assistant Commissioner Tess Walsh said there was “no doubt that this blue VW Golf sedan is key”.
“Police believe this car was used as what I would describe as a communal crime car … It’s possible the car was used by several different people and groups to commit these crimes over the November and December period (last year),” she said.
Police said there were several persons of interest, including the person who “managed” the blue Volkswagen, who possibly directed the three offenders to carry out the synagogue attack. “We certainly know one of the original users of the car and what we’re proposing is he potentially is somebody that has managed the use of the car,” Assistant Commissioner Walsh said.
The Victorian Joint Counter Terrorism Team (JCTT) on Thursday released chilling new CCTV footage of the arson attack on the Adass Israel Synagogue, showing masked suspects wielding axes and jerry cans during a co-ordinated attack. A massive fireball is shown erupting when one of the attackers lights the petrol.
The footage, made public in a bid to identify those involved, shows a blue 2020 Volkswagen Golf hatchback circling the synagogue multiple times before parking outside the main entrance in the early hours of December 6, 2024.
Moments later, three individuals — disguised in hoodies and masks — are seen exiting the vehicle, smashing their way into the Orthodox Jewish synagogue using an axe, and pouring accelerant throughout the building before igniting the fire.
One of the offenders can be seen filming the criminal act on his smart phone.
Authorities believe the jerry cans used during the incident had been purchased from a Bunnings Warehouse before being filled with about 100L of petrol.
Adass Israel board member Rabbi Benjamin Klein said police had arranged a Zoom meeting at 10am to inform him that they’d be releasing CCTV footage.
“It’s the first time we’ve seen the footage, it was quite confronting and distressing,” he said.
“If you think of a cars petrol tank, 100 litres of fuel is a lot and quite scary. From the communities point of view, we’re very grateful for the work police do. They’ve been in touch with us every single week since the investigation.”
Executive Council of Australian Jewry president Daniel Aghion welcomed the breakthrough on Thursday.
“The police have made it crystal clear that the dastardly firebombing of the Adass synagogue was an act of terrorism motivated by anti-Semitism. After more than five months, it is urgent that those accused of this crime be taken off our streets and put before a court,” he said.
“The newly released CCTV video is a shocking reminder of the danger they pose to the whole community. We urge anyone with information that might be relevant to come forward and assist the police, whose efforts we greatly appreciate.
“The spate of anti-Semitic incidents that occurred last summer, and the proliferation of anti-Semitic rhetoric which preceded those events, took an enormous emotional toll on our community. We can all have a role to play in preventing this from becoming a new normal.”
After the Lux attack, the stolen car was involved in a number of other incidents across Melbourne including several aggravated burglaries and petrol drive-offs in Brunswick, Cranbourne North, Caulfield South and Hampton.
Police arrested and interviewed a 22-year-old Pakenham man and a 23-year-old Pakenham man over the nightclub attack.
“There is nothing at all to indicate that the men arrested today were directly involved in the synagogue fire, or that the fire at Lux nightclub was a political attack,” police said.
Assistant Commissioner Walsh said police want to identify who planned the synagogue attack, not only those who lit the fire.
“Today has provided us with a breakthrough in the Lux nightclub arson investigation and we are now in position to publicly confirm that we believe the vehicle used in that incident is the same as the synagogue fire, as well as many other incidents of significant criminality such as shootings and aggravated burglaries across Melbourne,” she said.
Authorities have described the synagogue attack as “an extreme act of recklessness” that could have resulted in mass fatalities.
It is being treated as a terrorism incident.
Police on Thursday said they would “not comment at this time” on whether they believed the attack was a commissioned act of crime, however they had “no evidence of a state actor involvement or terrorist organisation being involved in (the) offence”.
The JCTT — which includes Victoria Police, the Australian Federal Police and ASIO — said it believed the attack was politically motivated.
“This is no normal crime,” AFP Assistant Commissioner for Counter Terrorism and Special Investigations Stephen Nutt said on Thursday.
“The penalty for terrorism is life imprisonment. It is just a matter of time before police knock on your door. Come forward now.”
He condemned the offenders as “cowards who cover their faces and carry out an attack on a place of worship”.
“If the purpose of this arson was to weaken the resolve of the Jewish community, my observation is, it hasn’t worked.
“In fact, what I’ve witnessed in the last few months is the opposite. I see a resilient Jewish community who stare down hatred and stand up for their values and beliefs, and on the CCTV footage we’re releasing today, you will see the opposite.”
Assistant Commissioner Nutt said police believed the individuals responsible for the attack were also involved in other “serious criminal activity” in Victoria.
“Based on our information, we believe some of the individuals involved are extremely violent.”
He would not directly answer why it took more than six months to release CCTV of the synagogue attack, but said police wanted to have an “extensive collection of the evidence available and also track where the vehicle and therefore the offenders went across Melbourne” before releasing the footage.
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