A Melbourne rabbi says his baby is lucky to escape unharmed after a flaming projectile was allegedly launched from a moving car on a suburban street.
The young father was walking along Hotham Street in St Kilda East at around 8.50pm on November 27 when he saw the “flaming” object fly onto the footpath near him.
The street he was pushing the stroller down contains Yeshivah College and the Sassoon Yehuda Sephardic synagogue and Ripponlea’s Adass Israel synagogue, which was burned down on December 6 in a terrorist attack, is just around the corner.
“There was a lot of smoke,” said the Jew to the Herald of the sun.
“I kept thinking, what if I had landed inside the stroller? I could have killed my baby.”
It is understood the projectile was not recovered, although arrests were made.
“Police arrested two men following an alleged incident where an object was thrown from a moving vehicle in Ripponlea on Wednesday 27 November,” a police spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia.
“It is alleged that the men were occupying a vehicle traveling along Hotham Street when the object was thrown onto the footpath causing a loud bang and smoke.
The Jewish father pushed his stroller on the sidewalk near the Sassoon Yehuda Sephardic synagogue (pictured) in St Kilda East, southeast of Melbourne.
Yeshivah College Jewish Primary and Secondary School is also on the same street.
“A man pushing a baby in a stroller and a child on his scooter were walking in the area at the time, they did not suffer physical injuries.
‘The driver, a 24-year-old man from Hampton East, was interviewed and released pending further investigations.
“The front seat passenger, a 23-year-old Hampton East man, was interviewed and is expected to be charged with firing a missile.”
The investigation is ongoing.
Anyone who witnessed the incident or has information is asked to contact Crime Stoppers.