A group of violent Africans bashed two Indian workers who tried to stop them stealing a carton of beer from their supermarket in a crime-plagued Melbourne suburb.
CCTV footage from the IGA store in Deer Park shows the two workers leap the counter to pursue an African male who was brazenly walking out without paying for the alcohol on New Year’s Eve.
But the video obtained by 7 News shows three other African thugs jump out of a waiting car and attack the now-outnumbered supermarket staff, punching one in the face while the other flees back inside.
The four Africans then rampaged through the store, stealing another carton of beer and smashing display cases that will cost $3,500 to replace and a similar amount to restock.
“My nephew got bashed, assaulted, his phone was taken, and the other staff members scared,” said owner Hitesh Palta.
“Police came here and inspected in and they’re telling us ‘what do you expect, it’s Deer Park’.
“They will come in this store and think it’s a free shopping ground for them, they’ll take whatever they feel like, but police does not want to help.”
The supermarket has been targeted several times before despite the installation of security cameras and panic buttons, and he believes the same offenders are responsible.
At the time of the 2021 Census, Deer Park in Melbourne’s west was just 42.5% Australian-born, and only 11.3% gave their ancestry as Australian.
33.8% of households spoke only English at home, with the largest other language groups being Vietnamese, Punjabi, Arabic and Tagalog.
The incident is the latest in a spate of disturbing incidents involving Africans in Melbourne in recent weeks, including the alleged stabbing murder of a Burmese teenager in Kurunjang, the alleged stabbing of another teenager in Darley, and an alleged fatal shooting in North Melbourne.
Header image credit: 7 News
