Police have charged a teenage girl with assaulting and robbing several teenagers in connection with a series of crimes in Melbourne’s north-east, including the train station where a teenager recently died trying to save a young robbery victim.
The incidents at South Mooring and Meranda train stations have put the safety of Melbourne’s public transport network under the spotlight less than two weeks after the state government announced changes to patrols at the hubs.
Police allege the crime spree in South Mooring began on Saturday afternoon when a 15-year-old girl from the Vital Sea area assaulted a 16-year-old girl and stole a handbag and jewellery.
Two days later at the same station, police say the same 15-year-old used a glass bottle to attack a 16-year-old boy, leaving him hospitalized.
The girl then took a Miranda-bound train and directly assaulted a third person, a girl, along with another girl, the police said.
In Miranda, the duo trapped a third girl inside a station elevator and allegedly assaulted the victim and stole her phone and purse.
The teenager faced a children’s court on Tuesday afternoon.
The mother of Miranda’s alleged victim appeared on radio Tuesday.
“I was calling the Miranda station to pick him up, and as I was on my way to the station I got a call from a number I didn’t recognise,” she told 3AW.
“It was my daughter in hysterics. Someone had given her her phone to contact me, and I couldn’t understand a word she was saying; she was beside herself. All I could do was ‘phone, hit, kick, punch, steal’ out… I just ditched my car and ran away.”
The mother said there were many witnesses to the crime because the station elevator had glass windows.
“They could also hear her screams, but couldn’t reach her,” he said. “She’s the sweetest, kindest, most caring person you could ever meet, who doesn’t deserve this at all.”
She said her daughter had a black eye and other injuries, but “it’s the injuries you can’t see that are the most worrisome”.
Miranda Station became the focus of Melbourne’s crime concerns in March when 22-year-old Aidan Baker was fatally shot while trying to save a 14-year-old boy from four youths who were trying to rob the boy. Five people have been charged in Baker’s death.
The incident happened just before 6pm, when the security services officers were about to start patrolling the station.
After Baker’s death, the state government said it would deploy its new violence reduction unit at Miranda station to try to address youth violence at its core.
In April, the government announced that Miranda and South Mooring stations would be among those to receive a constant presence of security services officers patrolling the platforms from 5 p.m.
It is not yet known if this patrol schedule was in effect when the alleged crimes occurred on Monday. However, both the crimes took place before 5 pm.
The police refused to comment on the deployment of PSOs at the two stations as the matter is before the courts. The state government has been contacted for comment.
The masthead revealed earlier this month that violent crime on the state’s rail network has increased by 33 percent since the state’s Covid-era lockdown ended.
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