Shirtless thugs assaulted a man and smashed up a car after a staffy tried to greet them, a Ballarat East woman claims.
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Hannah Burton, 21, was having a cigarette on her York Street property’s balcony with friends on Monday before she saw a stranger yelling on the road about 9.50pm.
It was then that her black staffy, Steele, tried to run down the balcony’s steps, capturing the attention of the highly agitated man, who Ms Burton said it seemed had been in an altercation along the street.
Suddenly, the man and another male accomplice, believed to be in their 20s, started running towards Ms Burton’s house.
Her boyfriend, Jayden, went out to investigate before one of the men shouted “you want to go me?”, according to Ms Burton.
Rushing back inside, she immediately dialed triple-0, but her boyfriend did not have time to escape and was set upon by the two thugs.
He eventually fled on foot down the street.
Afterwards, Ms Burton went outside and discovered her white Holden had been smashed with a weapon.
She said she was left shaken by the incident.
“It’s too close to home, we don’t know what’s going to happen in the future,” Ms Burton said.
“I’ve only had this car for a week, and somebody’s decided to lay into it.
“We weren’t doing anything to antagonise them.”
Victoria Police spokeswoman Lauren Kells confirmed Ballarat officers have launched an investigation into Monday night’s incident.
“It was reported that a group of people known to each other were outside a residential address on York Street when two unknown males approached them about 9.50pm,” she said.
“It is believed an altercation occurred, resulting in one of the unknown males allegedly assaulting a 24-year-old Ballarat man, punching him to the head.
“Investigators have been told the two men then damaged two cars parked in a driveway, smashing several windows, before fleeing west on foot.
“The investigation is ongoing.”
Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or submit a confidential crime report to www.crimestoppersvic.com.au