Andrea Hamblin
11 July 2017
Herald Sun
Axe wielding thieves hit Thornbury tobacco store
THIEVES armed with an axe have stormed into a tobacco shop, terrorising workers, in yet another daylight armed robbery in Melbourne.
Police are reviewing CCTV after the gang burst into the shop shortly after 2pm today.
Witnesses have told the Herald Sun they saw a young man running from Cignall Thornbury shop carrying a cash register.
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The offender was last seen getting into an older-model dark blue BMW sedan.
Local worker Anne said she heard an alarm blaring before a masked man fled the area.
“I saw a dark Sudanese guy with a an axe in his hand,”
“He had a cash register … he had a mask like a handkerchief on his face …(and) was tall, very skinny.”
She said it was not the first time the shop had been targeted.
“This is a very family-oriented area, it’s put fear in everyone,” Anne said.
“It’s such a shock.”
Another local worker said they feared burglaries were becoming “more and more violent each time”.
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