Sh0cking CCTV Captures Moments Before Good Samaritan Is Allegedly Set Upon by Group of Teens in Melbourne
A good Samaritan is expected not to survive after allegedly being bashed by children as young as 12 in Melbourne’s west.
The 60-year-old man came to the aid of shopkeepers in Sunshine about 2pm on Saturday when five children — aged 12, 13, 14 and 15 — fled from a store with allegedly stolen goods.
CCTV footage of the moments after shows the retail worker giving chase before a scuffle breaks out.
The man appears to push one of the children before he is struck in the head. What happens next occurs out of the view of cameras.
Police say the three boys and two girls from Brimbank and Banyule areas of Melbourne bashed the man, leaving him with injuries so serious he is will likely die.
It is believed the man was struck in the head a number of times and that his head struck the ground when he fell.
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Four of the teens were arrested on Saturday and a fifth — a 12-year-old boy — was arrested on Saturday night at his home address.
He appeared before a children’s court on Sunday where a magistrate revealed the extent of the retail worker’s injuries.
According to Seven News, the magistrate said the man was “left in an unsurvivable situation and it’s inevitable the charges of affray and intentionally causing serious injury will be upgraded”.
“Within days or hours, that victim will die, that was the grim message from a magistrate at a children’s court,” reporter Jacqueline Stanley said.
The mother of the 12-year-old boy made a plea for her son to be granted bail on Sunday. Through tears, she expressed concern for his mental health and physical safety but was unsuccessful.
Magistrate Robyn Hamilton said the boy’s alleged actions had “resulted in the worst possible outcome”.
Several of the teens are expected to face the court again later this week to have their bail examined.
A good Samaritan (right) is expected not to survive after allegedly being bashed by teens as young as 12 in Melbourne’s west.
It comes as Victoria’s new Premier Ben Carroll labelled the alleged attack on the 60-year-old “completely unacceptable”.
“This is terrible what occurred to this gentleman, there’s no tolerance for this sort of behaviour. It’s awful … it’s completely unacceptable,” Mr Carroll said.
He conceded the case the case should be subject to Victoria’s ‘adult time for violent crime’ initiative.
Meanwhile, the victim remains in a critical condition, with family members going between his Sunshine store and his bedside.
It is believed he is married with two small children.
3AW host Jacqui Felgate lamented on Monday that the case should be front page news but is part of a wider crime problem that has been normalised.
“We have allowed children to think that this is OK. That actions don’t have consequences and that if you commit a crime you don’t go to jail,” she said.
“And this happened because the government reacted many years ago to a death in custody and weakened bail laws. It should never have happened but this is the unintended consequences.
“For years, youth offenders and children don’t go to jail. They get bail and they know it. For (the government) to say we have the toughest bail laws in the country, these children … they laugh at police.”
