Ipswich alleged stabbing: Dramatic moment SWAT-style cops storm suburban backyard in manhunt for teenage boys after grandmother Vyleen White was allegedly stabbed to death at the shops
Video shows heavily armed police officers running through a backyard as they chase one of the teenage boys arrested in the death of grandmother Vyleen White.
Ms White, 70, was with her six-year-old granddaughter at the Town Square Redbank Plains Shopping Centre, near Ipswich west of Brisbane, when she was reportedly stabbed in the chest in the car park on Saturday evening.
Five teenagers, aged between 15 and 16, have now been arrested and charged in connection with her death and alleged carjacking. A 16-year-old boy has been charged with murder.
CCTV footage has now emerged of two heavily armed officers roaming the backyard of a house in Bellbird Park on Monday afternoon.
One officer, carrying a large rifle, gave the other officer a thumbs-up as they stood behind a wooden fence in various places in the yard, while dogs barked in the distance.
Vyleen White, 70, was with her six-year-old granddaughter at the Town Square Redbank Plains Shopping Centre, west of Brisbane, when she was reportedly stabbed in the chest in the center’s car park on Saturday evening.
Plastic chairs were stacked in the backyard and there was also a children’s slide on display.
A neighbor took a photo of one of the officers walking past their window during the arrest.
A 15-year-old boy turned himself in to police for the first time on Sunday and was charged with unlawful use of a motor vehicle in connection with Ms White’s allegedly stolen blue Hyundai Getz.
Another boy, 16, has now been charged with murder, unlawful use of a motor vehicle and theft after he was arrested at a unit in Bellbird Park on Monday afternoon. He will appear at Ipswich Children’s Court on Tuesday.
The remaining three teens have been charged with unlawful use of a motor vehicle and will appear in a separate court on Tuesday.
The second 15-year-old is also charged with possession of contaminated property.
CCTV footage has now emerged of two heavily armed officers roaming the backyard of a house in Bellbird Park on Monday afternoon
The officers were walking around the backyard of a home believed to belong to one of the teenagers arrested in connection with Ms. White’s murder.
A neighbor looks out his window Monday afternoon and sees a heavily armed officer
Mrs White died at the scene, while her granddaughter, who saw the horrors unfold, was unharmed.
Detectives had previously released CCTV footage of four youths in a Hyundai Getz, which was allegedly stolen from Ms White.
“Unfortunately the motive was to steal a Hyundai Getz,” Queensland Police Service Inspector Heath McQueen said of the fatal stabbing.
“I stand before you today and talk to you about a murder of a grandmother in front of a six-year-old… and the result was a stolen Hyundai Getz – that’s the motive.”
He described it as a ‘heartless, cowardly, violent crime’.
“She was a loving family woman,” he said.
‘She took her granddaughter to the shops. This is senseless violence.’
CCTV footage shows young people at the mall shortly before 5pm on Saturday, an hour before Vyleen White died
After Mrs. White’s death, one of her granddaughters, Samantha White, has a petition calling for stricter laws and punishments for gang-related and racially motivated violence.
“This devastating event has made me realize the urgency of addressing gang-related and racially motivated violence in our community,” Samantha wrote.
“It is the harsh reality that such incidents do not occur in isolation, but are part of a growing trend.”
She said gang violence has increased dramatically in recent years, citing figures from the Australian Institute of Criminology.
“We need stricter laws and harsher punishments for these heinous crimes,” the petition continued.
“We need reforms that will make our streets safer and ensure that no other family has to endure the pain we have experienced.
‘This petition calls on lawmakers in Redbank Plains QLD, Australia, to take immediate action by introducing tougher laws against gang-related activity and racial violence and imposing harsher sentences on those found guilty of such acts.
“Help make everyone’s lives safer, sign to make Vyleen’s Law possible.”
Vyleen White (pictured) was stabbed to death in the underground car park of the Town Square Redbank Plains Shopping Center on Saturday