Police have charged a 14-year-old boy they believe to be the principal offender in an alleged armed robbery that resulted in severe injuries to a schoolboy.
The incident occurred on Monday afternoon when a 14-year-old school student was reportedly coerced into a car by a group of individuals before falling from the moving vehicle near a Melbourne south-east intersection.
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Police said the boy from Glen Eira College had suffered “life-altering injuries”.
In a press conference on Thursday afternoon, Inspector Scott Dwyer announced the offender is a known youth gang member who is believed to be the principal offender in the incident.
The charges against the teenager include armed robbery, robbery, conduct endangering life, intentionally causing serious injury, theft of a motor vehicle, theft, possession of a controlled weapon, committing an indictable offence while on bail, and numerous other offences.
He has been remanded to appear at a Children’s Court at a later date.
Inspector Dwyer also stated that the police have identified all the gang members they believe were involved in the incident, and further arrests are imminent.
It is alleged that those arrested were also involved in a series of incidents in the same area on the same day.
“We have made a significant arrest today… I anticipate in the hours that follow and the days that follow there will be further arrests,” he said.
According to Victoria Police, while overall robbery rates have decreased by 37 per cent compared to pre-COVID levels in 2020, crimes committed by youth offenders aged 10 to 17 have increased.
There have been 598 identified youth offenders in the state who belong to 44 known gangs.
“We are trying to dissuade youth from joining gangs. We are trying to dissuade them from a life of crime.”
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