Details of the chaos and violence that hit Melbourne’s CBD on Friday night have emerged, with police insisting the shooting of a man armed with a broken bottle was justified given the threat he posed to officers.
Dean McWhirter, assistant commissioner of the Victorian Police Transit and Public Safety Command, said on Saturday afternoon two separate incidents converged around Princes Bridge near Flinders St Station at around 5.30pm.
At the time, a 27-year-old man on a tram allegedly tried to rob a male and female passenger before getting off at the historic CBD Bridge.
The South Melbourne man then allegedly attacked four people with a bottle after leaving the tram: a 67-year-old Warneet man, a 56-year-old Collingwood woman, a 24-year-old Kennington woman and a 46-year-old Hoppers Crossing woman – and took all four to hospital with injuries including cuts and bruises.
Police were justified in shooting a man on Melbourne’s Princes Bridge on Friday after saying he was a threat to officers (depicted scene of incident with emergency services)
Two separate incidents converged around Princes Bridge near Flinders Street Station, with officers and emergency services remaining at the scene well into the night (pictured)
Police and protective services officers arrested the man and established a crime scene, Deputy Commissioner McWhirter said, before a second alleged perpetrator, a 20-year-old man from Pakenham, approached a PSO at around 7pm.
The young man allegedly told the officer that he would ‘do him harm’ and the officer warned a fellow PSO about the threat.
Assistant Commissioner McWhirter said the man was wearing a hood and kept his hands in his pockets, and when he showed his hands he revealed a broken bottle.
The officers used OC spray on the young man, but it did not work because the man’s hoodie protected his face, Deputy Chief McWhirter said.
The man then chased one of the PSOs for 20 yards before a PSO drew his firearm and fired two shots at the man, hitting him in the stomach, in what police call a justified response to an urgent threat.
“It was clear that a member was going to be injured,” said Deputy Commissioner McWhirter.
He said the situation had “evolved very quickly” and that “action had to be taken to prevent serious injury.”
Assistant Commissioner Dean McWhirter said officers (pictured) had to take action as the situation was ‘evolving very quickly’
Victorian paramedics, who were still on scene from the earlier incident, took the man to Alfred Hospital where he will undergo surgery on Saturday evening and remain in hospital for several days.
The man does not have life-threatening injuries and is expected to recover from his wound.
Police confirmed that two officers drew their firearms, but only one fired.
“The members are handling the situation well,” said Deputy Commissioner McWhirter.
“It’s a traumatic situation for everyone.”
Several victims were injured when a man allegedly attacked four people in a separate incident, while another man allegedly threatened to harm a PSO with a glass bottle (photo of investigators and police officers on scene at Princes Bridge on Friday evening)
Police said they had “no knowledge” of the man and that he had no previous criminal history.
The officers’ response and their decision-making process will be investigated by Crime Command.
“Overall, Melbourne is a very safe city,” Deputy Commissioner McWhirter said
“This is just an unfortunate incident.”