Screams as shots fired, car crashes into school bus
As the car reversed, its open door swinging, one child took in a sharp breath before students began screaming.
The car, a stolen Kia Optima, crashed into the side of a school bus at Newtown in Geelong’s inner west on Thursday afternoon, with a man and a woman inside the car allegedly trying to escape police.
A police officer stepped out from behind a fence meters away from the bus window and fired two shots before one shouted “Everybody down, everybody down” and other students shrieked.
A camera held by a girl on the bus was pointed at the seat in front of her as the students hid.
Anthony Baric was sitting at a traffic light on a side street when he saw the car “fly over the footpath.”
“He blew out the traffic light, straightened it, and then hit another car in the middle of the intersection. Their car was just a wipeout from there,” Baric said. Age.
Earlier, she saw officers running into an adjacent street with guns in hand and heard “two pops” but wasn’t sure if they had fired until she saw a video taken by her daughter’s friend.
He was on the school bus with other students from Sacred Heart College and St Joseph’s College in Geelong. Nearby Matthew Flinders Secondary School for Girls serves as a bus interchange for surrounding schools.
Baric said that although her daughter was not on the bus, she was shaken by the incident.
“You could hear the fear in the kids on the bus; they were terrified.”
A police helicopter located the stolen Kia at the intersection of the Princes Highway and Roebuck Street in Newtown at around 3.40pm before it returned to the bus.
Victoria Police allege the car opened fire on officers before crashing into another car.
The 37-year-old man and woman inside (both from NSW) were said to have tried to escape before police arrested them. Police said the man was shot in the arm, but his injuries were not life-threatening. He and the slightly injured woman were taken to hospital under police custody.
A woman driving the car that was hit by the Kia was also taken to hospital with minor injuries.
“Armed crime squad detectives will investigate the incident under the supervision of the Professional Standards Command, as is standard practice when a police firearm is discharged,” police said in a statement.
A Department for Education spokesperson confirmed no students or staff were injured in the incident, but given that the incident occurred at the Matthew Flinders and bus junction, “precautionary student safety procedures” were implemented.
“The welfare of students and staff is always our top priority and support will be provided to anyone who needs it tomorrow,” the spokesperson said.
The pursuit was the second incident to frighten Baric and her daughter in two days after a woman was found dead on the East Coast on Wednesday. A homeless man was later arrested over her death, but no charges were filed.
Baric was on the beach Wednesday when he saw the woman’s body being taken away. “[My daughter is] “I’m always looking at what’s going on and then today this happened,” he said.
“Very worrying.”
Anyone with footage of the police pursuit is asked to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or submit a confidential report online to: www.crimestoppersvic.com.au.
The car was allegedly stolen from NSW.
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