A hospitality venue owner has been shot at during a home invasion on Saturday morning, the latest in an escalating series of violent attacks in Melbourne.
Two hospitality venues were also targeted overnight in what police suspect are the most recent in a string of violent incidents, including firebombings and shootings, that has plagued the city’s nightlife since February.
Armed offenders stormed a property in Pakenham where the venue owner lives with his family, according to police and industry sources speaking on condition of anonymity.
The two men “confronted one of the residents shortly before 6am”, a police spokeswoman said.
“A firearm was discharged by one of the offenders during the incident before the pair fled the scene,” she said. “The resident, along with several other people home at the time, weren’t injured.
“Detectives from Operation Eclipse will also review the matter to determine if it is linked to the current series of incidents targeting licensed premises across inner metropolitan Melbourne.”
A Molotov cocktail was thrown at George Hotel on Cecil Street, South Melbourne, about 2.30am on Saturday.
A small fire was extinguished, causing “minimal damage”, police said. The pub was closed at the time and no one was injured. A group of offenders fled from the scene in a vehicle, and officers were unable to locate those involved.
Police are also investigating an incident in Docklands overnight, in which a glass door was smashed at Lebanese restaurant Almina about 3.45am. Accelerant was poured inside the venue before it was set alight, causing minor damage to the building before it was extinguished.
Three suspects were arrested after they were intercepted by officers patrolling the area, police said.
Two males were allegedly hiding under the Bolte Bridge in Ron Barassi Snr Park, and a third male was located in a vehicle on Docklands Drive. A 19-year-old Collingwood man, 22-year-old Fitzroy North man and a 16-year-old from the Glen Eira area will be interviewed by investigators.
The restaurant was firebombed in December 2023, when three offenders smashed the restaurant’s windows and used an accelerant to set the venue alight. The trio fled in a vehicle.
Both of the incidents in the early hours of Saturday will be investigated by detectives from Operation Eclipse, a specialist taskforce designed to hunt down those behind Melbourne’s spate of firebombings.
At least 25 attacks on Melbourne hospitality and late-night venues have been reported since the crime spree began in February, according to several sources across police, hospitality and nightlife industries.
The list of targeted venues includes Albion Hotel, The Emerson, Left Bank, Bar Bambi and France-Soir restaurants.
Police confirmed that at least 16 firebombings, drive-by shootings or attempted attacks on licensed venues were related, as well as two abductions connected to the industry.
Federal and state police are investigating whether the spate of violence is linked to the trade in tax-free alcohol.
According to law enforcement sources unable to speak publicly, they are probing whether some new opaque entrants to the distilling industry are exploiting a $180 million-a-year tax break meant to encourage craft spirit makers, but which critics say is distorting the market with excise-free liquor.
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