The hosts of a teenage party in Point Cook barricaded themselves in a bedroom as their party was invaded, and their home smashed and robbed.
Up to 200 youths swirled around the Drysdale Crescent house before gatecrashing the party — working themselves into a “frenzy” — before smashing windows and doors, terrified witnesses said.
The party was advertised on Facebook to friends and started around 6pm with music playing. The hosts, two teens, a brother believed to be 17 and his younger sister, held the party after their father went on a trip to Queensland this week.
Neighbour Lee said it was a good family and she felt sorry for the teens. She said she was terrified for her family as 100 to 200 youths aged between 14 and 20, and nearly all male, descended on the street.
“Two police cars turned up at either end of the street but they had to reverse back again and then it was like a free reign to do whatever they wanted,” Lee, who did not want to give her surname, said.
Another neighbour Maddy said the group started to swarm and swirl around working themselves up to make a move on the house around 11.30pm on Saturday.
“About 20 came up to the door and tried to get in, but the girl slammed the door,” Maddy said.
After several more attempts the youths started punching and kicking at the doors and windows, then grabbing garden stakes used to prop up trees in the street, Lee said.
“They were punching and kicking and then they managed to kick in the front door and smashed the front window …there were about 30 or 40 of them. As soon as the front window broke they were like in a frenzy,” another neighbour, Ryan, said.
A council wheelie bin was also thrown at the front window and on Sunday morning, it along with its contents remain strewn on the front lawn.
“Once the window smashed it was on,” Maddy said.
Victoria Police Superintendent Stuart Bateson said several people at the party, including the teenage girl host, barricaded themselves in a bedroom while their home was trashed.
Claudine Opie, a neighbour, said the scene was like an American movie.
She and her husband locked themselves in their home and her husband grabbed a cricket bat for protection.
“It was just chaos,” Ms Opie said.
Several neighbours saw the party invaders taking television sets, computers and other valuables from the home.
The crowd only dispersed after dozens of police arrived along with a helicopter.
Superintendent Bateson said police made a “tactical retreat” when they were clearly outnumbered, before back up could attend.
He said the party was initially by “private invitation” but grew from about 30 to 100 inside the house after it was shared on Facebook.
The girl is staying with friends and family and police are assisting the boy with contacting the property owner to secure the house.
“They are pretty sheepish. They know they have overstepped the mark and certainly they are more worried about what their father is going to say, than any other consequences,” Superintendent Bateson said.
“We have spoken to father and he is less than impressed.”
He said while the night was both frightening and intimidating, only a handful of young men had caused the damage. He called for those youth to turn themselves in to police.
By Deborah Gough, The Age
