Three men have been injured after a gang of up to 10 machete-wielding thugs crashed a birthday party being held in a Melbourne short-stay rental.
The violence erupted at about 4.45am on Saturday at a property on Everholme Drive in Truganina, and pictures of the home show smashed tables, glass doors and furniture, the floor covered in blood, and bottles of alcohol with anti-theft rings still attached.
Two African men aged 18 and 24 were taken to hospital where they remain in a serious condition, and a third man fled after paramedics treated his wounds at the scene, local news outlet Wyndham TV reported.
Witnesses said heated arguments broke out after the attack, and police were forced to use pepper spray to control the volatile situation.
CCTV shows a group of machete-wielding males running from the home and appearing to hack at a male near a car while a voice can be heard repeatedly shouting “wrong person, wrong person”.
The group had fled by the time police arrived, and no arrests have been made, but police believe the violence was part of a feud between two gangs, 10 News reported.
Detective Senior Constable Rhys Maclean-Currie said the crime scene was “quite confronting” and said there was “gang activity” at Airbnb houses in the area.
“There was quite a bit of damage, a significant amount of blood,” he said.
“Investigators believe that this is a gang-related incident between two opposing gangs known to police and known to the area.
“In terms of retribution between associated gangs, it is taken into consideration as part of our investigation and will form part of our plan for a rapid resolution.”
The violent home invasion is the latest in a series of machete attacks that have taken place in Melbourne since Premier Jacinta Allan banned the weapons and installed 40 “machete bins” across the state at a cost of $13 million.
Last week a father was allegedly stabbed 11 times during a home invasion, and less than a week before that African and Pacific Islander gangs fought with swords and machetes at a busy shopping centre.
Header image: Left, one of the injured men. Right, people gathered outside the home afterwards (Wyndham TV).
