Men ‘snatched woman at knife-point’ as she changed tyre in Sydney’s west
Updated ,first published
Two men allegedly tried to drag a woman off the street at knifepoint while she was changing her car tire before brave witnesses intervened in Sydney’s west.
Police were called to Browne Parade at Warwick Farm at around 2.30pm on Tuesday following reports of the attack.
Saer Elcharr, 24, and Mohammed Thahirdeen, 23, are accused of committing aggravated robbery with a 20-centimeter black knife of a Greenacre woman’s iPhone 15.
Allegedly, a 27-year-old woman was spotted changing a flat tire on her car when one of the men tried to drag her towards a Kia SUV.
Police claimed members of the public intervened and the men fled in the vehicle. NSW Ambulance paramedics treated his facial and leg injuries before he was taken to hospital.
At 4 p.m., police arrested a Thahirdeen on the riverbank of Duck Creek, Auburn, and arrested Elcharr on West Street, Auburn.
Witnesses said a dozen police cars lined the short streets around the Auburn dog park and officers dusted off the Kia for fingerprints.
“Don’t worry, you’re safe, the suspects are in custody,” a police officer told a worried local.
Police allege the two men waited for the woman in a Liverpool car park before following the car into Browne Parade.
Both men were charged with armed robbery with an offensive weapon, aggravated robbery and use of bodily violence.
Neither appeared in Parramatta Local Court on Wednesday after their issues were raised through legal aid.
NSW Police Acting Superintendent Andrew Sweeney said the woman was not known to any of her kidnappers: “It appears she is an innocent party in this incident.”
“Obviously this is a very scary event,” he said. “We believe this was a targeted attack.
Police have not determined whether his tires were tampered with to stop him.
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