Major police operation underway in Carlisle St, Balaclava, Melbourne: Special operations officers swarm area, ‘two men in handcuffs’
- Two men arrested after a major police operation in Melbourne
- A specialist police officer was seen in camouflage carrying an AR-15
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Two men have been arrested after a major police operation involving heavily armed officers in camouflage on a busy Melbourne street.
The operation brought Carlisle St in Balaclava, south-east Melbourne, to a standstill just before 4.30pm on Wednesday when unmarked police SUVs blocked both lanes.
Footage from the scene shows a police officer wearing a bulletproof camouflage vest and a balaclava while wielding an AR-15.
The footage also shows a group of people standing around a certain part of the sidewalk that was closed to the public.
The two men were seen sitting on the sidewalk in handcuffs as plainclothes officers stood over them.
Two men were arrested on Wednesday afternoon following a major police operation involving the Special Operations Group on Carlisle Street in Balaclava, South East Melbourne.
The operation involved officers from the Special Operations Group, a tactical police unit that deals with counter-terrorism and high-risk arrests.
An employee at a nearby juice shop said police “handled the case quite quickly.”
“We only noticed when some of our customers said there were two men in handcuffs outside the store,” the employee told the Herald Sun.
“The police took some evidence and then ran off, it all happened quickly.”
An employee at a café on Carlisle Street told the publication that people in the area were on ‘high alert’ due to the local Jewish population, with dozens of people watching the operation.
A Victoria Police spokesperson confirmed the two men were arrested as part of an investigation into an aggravated home invasion in Templestowe Lower, in the city’s north-east, on November 16.
One officer was seen at the scene wearing a bulletproof camouflage vest and a balaclava while wielding an AR-15 (photo)
The men are currently being questioned by police in connection with the incident.
Police allege the Linton Avenue home was broken into by several people around 1 a.m. before a shot was fired.
While the bullet did not hit any of the four people in the house, a 32-year-old man was attacked and taken to hospital with serious but non-life-threatening injuries.
A woman and two children, one of whom is believed to be a baby, were unharmed during the incident and were seen leaving the property later that morning.
“The exact circumstances surrounding the incident are yet to be established at this stage, but it is believed that all parties involved know each other,” the Victoria Police spokesperson said.