Victoria Police are searching for four teenagers suspected of viciously attacking a homeless man in the heart of Bendigo's central business district. The incident has raised fresh fears about rising youth crime in the regional Victorian city, with businesses and residents saying young offenders are out of control and that police seem powerless to stop them.
Security camera footage captured the violent crime in the centre of Bendigo. With their faces hidden behind balaclavas, a group of youths is seen making their way through the regional city, terrorising people along the way. Locals described being threatened, with one recounting that the group warned passers-by they would be stabbed, using aggressive and abusive language.
In Bath Lane, the footage shows the group approaching a 41-year-old homeless man before a fight breaks out. The man is now recovering in hospital with multiple stab wounds, in an attack that has shaken the local community and added to growing concern about safety in the area, particularly after dark.
According to the account broadcast by ABC News, the man ran from his attackers and fled to a pub a few streets away, where he collapsed and was treated by patrons. Authorities said the actions of the patrons and staff members at that venue ultimately assisted in potentially saving his life, helping him until emergency services could take over.
The attack is the latest in a series of violent incidents in Bendigo. It was on the same street that a man named Isaac McLean and a friend were attacked by a gang around a year ago, a reminder that the area has been the scene of repeated violence. Residents argue that the true scale of the problem is far larger than official statistics suggest.
Business owners in the city say the situation is only getting worse. One trader, who said he had been working in the area for nearly three years, told reporters that conditions were not improving and had instead deteriorated, echoing a wider sense among local operators that violent and antisocial behaviour has become more frequent in the heart of the city.
The state Premier, whose electorate includes parts of Bendigo, defended the government's record on youth crime. She said that those responsible for such violent actions would be treated seriously, with young people brought before the courts as adults, where jail is more likely and sentences are longer. Police say they are examining CCTV vision as their hunt for the four youths continues.