Jewish institutions praised for swift response
'Jewish institutions were prompt. They listened to instructions. Everyone was speaking the same language and acted straight away.'
Jewish institutions in the Melbourne suburb of St Kilda have been praised for their swift and effective response to a security alert on Thursday.
Community Security Group (CSG) Victoria said organisations listened carefully when contacted and acted straight away during the incident.
Police initially responded to reports of a man with a firearm in the vicinity of Carrington Grove but found the man holding garden shears and behaving erratically.
No firearm was located. Officers deployed a taser when the man resisted arrest, and one officer was taken to hospital for observation after allegedly being assaulted.
Mount Scopus Memorial College’s GBH campus temporarily restricted all entry and exit and kept students indoors as a precautionary measure after Victoria Police alerted CSG to the suspicious individual in the vicinity around 1pm.
Victoria Police have stressed there is no information to suggest any ongoing risk to the community following the arrest of a 30-year-old Pakenham man on Elston Street.
A CSG Victoria spokesperson said the Jewish institutions’ response demonstrated the effectiveness of emergency procedures.
“No one ever wants to actually practice these sorts of things in a real situation. But if we have to, this is the best case scenario where no one was hurt. They were able to make the situation safe very, very quickly,” the spokesperson said.
“Jewish institutions were prompt. They listened to instructions. Everyone was speaking the same language and acted straight away.”
Mount Scopus Memorial College informed parents and staff that “at no point did the suspicious individual attempt entry to the GBH campus” and that campus operations resumed normally once CSG and security personnel confirmed no further risk existed.
CSG Victoria said it operates “out of the concept of an abundance of caution” and maintained ongoing communication with Victoria Police throughout the incident to ensure facilities could return to routine operations as quickly as possible.
“We’re really grateful for the ongoing relationship with Victoria Police. It helps us do what we do, and we like to think that it helps them do what they do a little easier,” the CSG spokesperson said.
The man remains in police custody and will be interviewed in relation to the incident.
Police are urging anyone who witnessed the incident or has dashcam footage to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or submit a confidential report online.
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