A man will be charged after allegedly carjacking a 70-year-old woman before breaking into a Melbourne home and holding a father and his toddler inside in an hours-long siege.
A 26-year-old Snake Valley man, known to police, allegedly carjacked the woman in the western Victorian town about 2.30pm on Tuesday.
He led air police on a chase to Melton in Melbourne’s outer west where he got out and allegedly attempted to, unsuccessfully, carjack another vehicle.
The man was tracked to the neighbouring suburb of Weir Views where he was confronted by officers out patrolling for him.
He allegedly fired a shot from a high-powered rifle at police but did not injure them.
The man then allegedly broke into a nearby house occupied by a father and his one-year-old, and held them inside for two-and-a-half hours.
The special operations group and critical incident response team negotiated with the man while communicating with the father, Supt Michael Cruse said.
“Throughout the negotiations, we attempted for him to surrender and put the firearm down,” he told reporters on Wednesday.
“We provided safe passage for that to occur. That did not occur prior to the incident unfolding.”
Officers were able to negotiate for the father and child to get out of the house through the front window just after 6pm.
As the rescue was happening, another shot was allegedly fired inside the home, leading police to enter.
It is alleged the man then fired a shot at officers, and they returned fire.
“[Officers] were able to deploy a police dog, and the male offender was taken down and arrested,” Cruse said.
“It’s extremely lucky [that no officers were injured], and the [alleged] offending is very serious, and it’s completely unacceptable that police members were exposed to this kind of danger.”
Asked about reports the man was in the back yard jumping on a trampoline before police intervened, Cruse said there was a period of time where he was behaving erratically.
The man remains at the Royal Melbourne hospital after being treated for a dog bite, with police expecting him to be discharged on Wednesday afternoon when he will be interviewed and is expected to be charged.
Police are supporting the alleged victims who were uninjured in the incidents.
“Investigators will make sure they get referrals and they’re OK, but undoubtedly, it is a terrifying incident – very, very traumatic – and we’ll need to support them through this,” Cruse said.
The man will potentially face a raft of charges including aggravated carjacking, attempted aggravated carjacking, aggravated burglary, conduct endangering life, and firearms offences.
