A manhunt is underway for a gang of thugs who carjacked three motorcycle and scooter riders in Melbourne, including a woman who was Tasered and brutally bashed.
Victoria Police said six male riders carried out the three attacks in West Footscray on September 19, and have released CCTV footage of four riders on Sunshine Road after the final robbery.
The gang first struck just at about 12.20am, boxing in a 40-year-old man on Napier Street, assaulting him and fleeing with his motorcycle.
The man was not seriously injured, and his stolen motorcycle was recovered burnt out in Presidents Park, on McMahon Road in the multicultural suburb of Wyndham Vale about an hour later.
10 minutes after the first attack, the same group are believed to have approached a 32-year-old man on Sunshine Road. They struck him with a wrench, physically assaulted him while demanding his keys, and pulled him from his bike.
The victim was taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, and the scooter is yet to be recovered.
The group then attacked a 27-year-old woman from Wantirna South on the same road at 11pm that night, shoving her from her motorbike, Tasering her, striking her with a baton, and punching and kicking her while she was on the ground.
CCTV released by police:
The woman, named Emma, was taken to hospital with serious, non-life-threatening injuries, and her motorcycle is also yet to be found.
Emma called the man “cowards” while speaking out about the attack on Tuesday, and said she had a fractured rib and burn marks on her stomach from being Tasered.
“I decided to let go of the bike because it was becoming progressively more violent,” she said,
“The blows to my head did not feel like just a fist, it felt like there was some weapon in their hands. The longer it happened, the harder they were striking my head.
“Toward the end, if felt like a personal attack on me because they couldn’t get what they wanted. I felt their anger and frustration that I wasn’t letting go of my bike. They need to be caught. They need to be held accountable.”
Header image: Left, Emma speaking out. (Victoria Police). Right, one of the assaults (supplied).
