Melbourne teenage restaurant worker repeatedly punched and kicked then robbed in Springvale
A teenager taking a break from his work at a local restaurant was beaten and mugged in a violet attack in Melbourne’s southeast last week.
Dylan, 19, was sitting in his usual spot on a set of stairs on Stephens Ave in Springvale during his 30-minute break when he was randomly attacked on Friday, December 22.
WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Melbourne teenager mugged in violent assault.
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As Dylan was listening to music about 9pm, he was approached by a man who attempted to talk to him.
While the man kept talking, another man grabbed Dylan from behind and placed him in a headlock.
His mobile phone, headphones and wallet were taken while another man also appeared.
One of the men demanded Dylan share the pin code to his phone and when he refused, one of the men threatened him with a knife.
Dashcam video from a nearby car shows the men repeatedly kicking and punching the teenager.
Passers-by in cars in the area at the time then beeped their horns, disturbing the group.
They fled and drove off in what police believe is a silver 2018 BMW 118 sedan.
Dylan only suffered minor injuries, including bruising and some abrasions.
Victoria Police Detective Sergeant Charlie Love said while the attack was random and an “isolated incident”, it was clearly planned given one of the offenders distracted Dylan before he was grabbed.
“It definitely could have been (much worse), obviously it’s a callous attack,” he said.
“(It’s) believed to be planned with the fact that one person has distracted the victim from the front while the other has grabbed them in a headlock.”
Dylan, who works at a nearby restaurant, said it took him a few moments to realise the severity of what was happening.
“My initial thought was I need to get up as quickly as possible, I need to turn around and see what’s going on … my immediate assumption was not that I’m being assaulted, my immediate assumption was something might be happening that someone is trying to get me out of the way of,” he said.
“When I did start feeling the tightening around my neck, it kinda clicked in that stuff was going down.”
The teenager said he was grateful for the bystanders who helped him and the outcome could have been much worse if they weren’t.
Love said Dylan’s assailants were all believed to be in their late teens or early 20s.
One of the men has been described as approximately 183cm tall and was wearing all dark clothing with what was believed to be an Everlast hoodie and gloves.
Another man is approximately 183cm tall and was also wearing all dark clothing, including a Gant-branded hoodie, Adidas Yeezy boost shoes and a glove on his right hand.
The third man is approximately 183cm tall and wore dark clothing and Nike shoes.
Dylan said he would now be taking his work breaks inside.
But given the men were still on the run, he said he was worried about the community’s safety.
“It’s not just my safety anymore, they can happily do it to other people and that’s terrifying,” he said.
Anyone with any information has been urged to contact Crime Stoppers.
