ESCAPE FROM HELL: Two Prisoners on the Loose Spark Panic in Regional Victoria as Farm Worker is Left ‘Shaken’ After Being Attacked and Threatened with Death
- Terrified farm worker reveals harrowing encounter with escaped prisoner who jumped onto his tractor and threatened to kill him
- Locals slam authorities for failing to alert them to the prison break, saying they were left in the dark and vulnerable to attack
- Two prisoners were arrested 25km from Langi Kal Kal Prison after a dramatic manhunt, but not before they allegedly broke into homes and terrorised the community
In a chilling incident that has left a regional Victorian community on edge, a farm worker has spoken out about his terrifying encounter with one of two escaped prisoners who attacked him while he was driving a tractor on Friday night.
The victim, who wishes to remain anonymous, said he was left “shaken” after the prisoner jumped onto his tractor and tried to open the door, threatening to kill him. “He was going off that he was gonna kill me and he knows what I look like and he was just [in] a rage,” the farm worker recounted.
The incident has sparked outrage among locals, who are demanding to know why they were not alerted to the prison break. “How is that not an incident?” one local asked, referring to the claim by Victoria Police that the escapees were arrested “without further incident”.
A local councillor has described the lack of communication with the community as a “disgrace” and is calling for changes to the corrections system to ensure that locals are notified of such incidents in the future.
The two prisoners, who were arrested about 25km from Langi Kal Kal Prison on Saturday morning, have been charged with several offences, including escaping from a jail and aggravated carjacking. However, locals claim that the prisoners were involved in a string of incidents, including breaking into homes, while on the run.
The farm worker, who was not physically injured in the attack, said he believed that the prisoners could have been caught sooner if the public had been alerted to the escape. “We had seen them about an hour earlier and didn’t take any notice, we just thought it was two blokes walking up the side of the road going to get a tractor or something,” he said.
Pyrenees Shire councillor Simon Tol agreed that the community should have been made aware of the escape, saying that it was essential for public safety. “If we’ve got two crooks running around, let people know so they can make their place secure,” he said.
Corrections Victoria and the Victorian government have been contacted for comment, but so far, there has been no explanation as to why the community was not alerted to the prison break.