TEEN STILL AT LARGE
POLICE were last night hot on the trail of a teenager allegedly part of a group that went on a reign of mayhem yesterday on the Gold Coast and into NSW.
One man was stabbed as he confronted the teens and another has described narrowly escaping a terrifying carjacking in which he was chased by two carloads of assailants.
Children aged just 14 – boys and girls – are alleged to have taken part in the spree.
A CITYWIDE manhunt was under way last night to find the last teen involved in an alleged crime spree that left a good Samaritan stabbed and dozens of cars damaged from Bundall to Murwillumbah.
Police used road spikes, sniffer dogs, a helicopter and locked down a shopping centre to catch three of the teens, two 15 year olds and a 16year-old, who were believed to be involved in a thieving joyride.
They are alleged to have damaged cars, stolen at least three and stabbed a man.
The alleged spree started at Bundall about 11pm on Sunday as they rolled through Benowa, Varsity Lakes, Surfers Paradise, Tugun and Tweed.
At Isle of Capri, a man investigating a car alarm challenged the gang and was stabbed before cars were smashed and ransacked.
Police made a plea for public assistance to help track down teens at 1.30pm yesterday and within three hours they were in a high speed pursuit across the border.
The dark grey Skoda the alleged thieves were in, went south of the border to Murwillumbah, turned back north, all with a police cars and a helicopter chasing.
Police punctured two of the car’s tyres with road spikes at Stotts Creek 15km south-west of Tweed.
Then at 4.50pm the car crashed into a Nissan Patrol outside Tweed City Shopping Centre on Minjungbal Dr.
Labor candidate for Tweed Craig Elliot said he saw four young adults pile out of the smashed up car, its tyres were shredded and it had dints in the passenger door.
He said they ran out of the Skoda, through a car yard and bounded towards him outside the shopping centre.
The former policeman tackled one to the ground but the remaining three fled into the shopping centre.
Police locked down the shopping centre and used sniffer dogs to find two more teens within 30 minutes.
They were unable to find the third.
Tweed Shire resident Dion Andrews was inside the shopping centre when it was locked down by police.
“People were running and screaming,” he said.
“We were in JB HiFi and they shut all the doors and locked everyone in.
“We were in there for about 15 minutes before they let us out.”
Isle of Capri resident Anthony Larbalestier woke to the sound of a car alarm and ran out to inspect.
“I went out and only one of the driver’s side windows was smashed,” he said.
“When I came out later other residents had come out and the ambulance was here pretty quickly.”
Queensland Police detective inspector Marc Hogan said the group was comprised of at least five children aged 14 to 17, male and female.