A man armed with a gun is on the run after he stormed an animal shelter in Melbourne’s south-east and threatened a worker.
Police said the offender, aged in his 50s and dressed in “tactical style camouflage clothing” including a mask and helmet, approached the on-call ranger in the car park of the Lost Dogs Home at Cranbourne West, southeast of Melbourne, about 10.20pm on Monday.
Senior Sgt Glen Cruse said the ranger wound down the window of her vehicle, thinking he was an officer.
The man then walked her into the shelter at gunpoint, tied her hands with cable ties and demanded to know “where the cats were” before leaving without taking anything.
He remained on the run on Tuesday.
“The circumstances are a little bizarre but it’s really concerning [he] has confronted someone like that in the middle of the night, dressed the way he was and armed with a firearm,” Cruse told reporters.
“He threatened to use the firearm on her if she didn’t comply.”
The woman, in her 20s, was able to free herself and raise the alarm.
Cruse said she was uninjured but had been left shaken by the incident.
“It’s very traumatising to be confronted like that in a dark, remote location,” he said.
“What she’s gone through and … how she was able to deal with the situation and communicate with the offender and notify police – it’s very brave.”
The man’s motivations remain unknown but appeared to be linked to a desire to rescue animals.
“He was asking about where the cats were stored and talking about [how] a lot of animals are killed … seems to have the belief that potentially animals are treated in a cruel way and killed on the premises,” Cruse said.
The man has been described as Caucasian, more than 1.83m tall and solid.