By Alesha Capone
A mother who says her 14 year-old son was threatened by group of youths at McDonalds in Tarneit is searching for the woman who came to his aid.
The mother (who asked not to be named) said her son went to the McDonalds, on Derrimut Road, around 4pm on Sunday, October 20, while she attended the shopping centre across the road.
The mother said as her son walked out of the McDonalds, a group of 10 to 15 youths – whom he described as “African” in appearance and aged around 15 to 16 years old – followed him out to the carpark.
“One put his arm around my son and started feeling in his pockets,” she said.
She said the youths started leading her son towards a side street and told him: “If you don’t come with us, we’ll hook you.”
But, as this occurred, a woman driving into the carpark stopped her vehicle.
“She got out and said, ‘Are you okay?’ and ‘Leave him alone’, and they (the youths) scattered,” the mother said.
“She was very, very brave, a lot of people wouldn’t have gotten involved.”
The mother said the woman offered to drive her son home, but instead walked with him to the shopping centre.
The mother said she would like to thank the woman, who was named Bec and drove a silver car, for assisting her son.
“At the time, I was mostly worried about my son, and didn’t think to get her phone number,” the mother said.
The mother said she and her son reported the incident to police.
The mother said she also believed the Tarneit McDonalds should consider increasing its safety measures, such as hiring a security guard. ”
Wyndham Police Inspector Marty Allison said the Tarneit McDonalds “used to give us a lot of heartache back in the day, two or three summers ago”.
In December 2016, the McDonalds made headlines when brawl involving up to 150 youths took place at the site.
But Inspector Allison said nowadays, police were rarely called to the McDonalds.
“They’ve worked really hard to engage with the community and employed a lot of young African people as well, we hardly go there now,” he said.
A McDonald’s spokesperson said: “The safety and security of our people and customers is our number one priority. We have a number of security measures in place, such as CCTV, and are assisting the police with their investigation into this incident. We do not tolerate any form of violence or abuse in our restaurants, and any anti-social behaviour will be reported to the relevant authorities.
Anyone who knows Bec’s identity can contact Alesha at acapone@starweekly.com.au
