Arabic version: الشرطة تعتقل ثلاثة على خلفية سرقة مسلحة وحريق منزل في كولز باي
Police have arrested three men following a violent armed robbery and house fire at Coles Bay on Tasmania’s east coast. According to ABC News, Tasmania Police detectives carried out an operation in Launceston that resulted in arrests at properties in South Launceston, Prospect and Invermay.
The three men remain in custody at the Launceston Remand Centre and have not been charged, police said. The arrests followed an early-hours attack at the Coles Bay home last Saturday that left a 76-year-old man injured and his house burnt down in the blaze.
The victim, identified in hospital statements as Grant Whelan, was bound and assaulted, had nine guns stolen from his property, and was left outside to watch his home burn. He remains in the Royal Hobart Hospital in a stable condition, and most of his possessions were lost in the fire. A fundraiser to help pay medical bills and replace essential items has raised more than $76,000.
Detective Inspector David Gill said the guns had not been recovered at this stage. “While it is pleasing we have arrested three people in relation to this serious incident, it is concerning the firearms stolen from the property still remain in our community,” he said. He repeated calls for people with knowledge of the location of the firearms to come forward and urged anyone approached to buy or store firearms on behalf of another person to contact police.
In a statement from hospital earlier this week, Mr Whelan thanked the community for its support and described the attack as sudden. “All of the sudden you’re laying there looking at the weather chart, next second, you are getting your guts punched out of you and you just don’t know where it has all come from,” Mr Whelan said. “[I] wake up with flashes of bright lights and people screaming.”
The continued absence of the stolen guns means weapons remain unaccounted for in the community, a point police described as concerning. The arrests demonstrate an active police response, but the fact the suspects have not been charged and the firearms have not been recovered leave key elements of the case unresolved.
What happens next: the arrested men remain in custody while police continue to investigate and seek information about the location of the stolen firearms. Authorities have called for anyone with relevant information to contact police.
Related sections: Australia/استراليا | Tasmania
