A woman has allegedly been stabbed by a trio of knifemen who are still on the run after allegedly robbing three supermarkets and stealing a car.
Police are hunting for three men who are believed to be travelling around Melbourne’s outer suburbs in a stolen white Mercedes hatchback.
There are unconfirmed reports at least one person has been stabbed and the Victoria Police air wing has been dispatched to assist in the search.
An emergency has since been declared by police who responded to reports of a young female worker being stabbed during an aggravated burglary.
The men first targeted a IGA supermarket on Bernard Street in Cheltenham, in the city’s south, where they leapt the counter and assaulted a worker at 4pm.
It is reported that the same men then immediately headed to a Dockendorff grocer on Cochran Street in Brighton 9.8km away for a second robbery at 4:30pm.
Detectives from the Moorabbin Crime Investigation Unit are interviewing staff from the grocer where at least three workers are believed to have been assaulted.
A young female staffer is understood to have been stabbed during the incident and is being treated at the scene for minor injuries.
Officers are interviewing other workers who were present at the time and also reviewing CCTV footage of the incident.
A third supermarket in Burwood is also believed to have been targeted by the men.
A police helicopter is in the sky above Melbourne trying to locate the men who are still at large and a large presence remains outside of the Dockendorff store.
CCTV from the group’s first robbery inside the Cheltenham IGA shows the men leaping over the counter and raiding the store’s cash register.
One of the men can also be seen punching a worker before allegedly asking for the key to the tobacco cabinet.
They were in the store for about a minute before fleeing to Burwood for their second robbery.
The knifemen primarily stole cash and cigarettes during the burglaries.
It is believed that the trio were being driven by a fourth man who waited outside in the Mercedes.
Police said the car fled the scene before stopping to let two men out who then got into a brown four-wheel drive.
Both cars were last seen travelling northbound on the Nepean Highway
More to come.
Emily Foster is a globe-trotting journalist based in the UK. Her articles offer readers a global perspective on international events, exploring complex geopolitical issues and providing a nuanced view of the world’s most pressing challenges.
