Staff and punters at gaming venues across the north-west have been terrorised at gun point in a spate of increasingly violent armed robberies.
Armed crime squad detectives believe the same group of men is responsible for 15 armed robberies and attempted armed robberies committed at venues in St Albans, Keilor, Laverton, Craigieburn, Roxburgh Park, Epping and Brunswick between December 7 and March 7.
Police say up to four men have been involved in each incident. They entered venues armed with shotguns, rifles, handguns and edged weapons, and departed with substantial but undisclosed sums of cash.
A security guard was struck with a firearm and received stitches to his face after one of the offenders struck him with the butt of a firearm during the most recent armed robbery, at a pokies venue in Roxburgh Park on March 7.
In another armed robbery, on February 18, the offenders left the scene in a stolen vehicle and soon after carjacked another vehicle from a woman and her young daughter, who were threatened at gunpoint.
The armed crime taskforce’s Detective Inspector Steve Clark said no shots had been fired during the robberies.
He said the crimes had been well-planned with the offenders acting out clear roles.
“Armed robbery by its very nature is a violent crime, but when we have a 12-year-old girl confronted with a firearm, when a guard is badly hurt, we’re concerned not only that they are violent but that the violence is escalating,” Inspector Clark said.
“They’re particularly violent, they’re particularly traumatic for the victims involved, they’re traumatic for the staff that work at those venues.”
Anyone with information can call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or submit a confidential report to www.crimestoppers.com.au.
