A man was confronted by a teenager with a machete in the Canberra Outlet Centre on 27 February 2025. Photo: ACT Policing.
Three young girls were at high school in southern Canberra when a stolen car was driven towards them, then a teenager pointed a gun out the window and screamed for them to get on the ground.
The same teenager was on bail for this terrifying incident when he threatened staff with a machete in the Canberra Outlet Centre while stealing a pair of shoes.
He was 17 and a passenger in a stolen BMW hatchback on 9 August 2024 when police tried to pull it over, but instead the car’s driver took off at speed.
Footage taken inside the car during the following car chase showed the teen holding a pistol with the phrase, ‘f-k toric’ written at the top of the film. This was likely a reference to ACT Policing’s Operation TORIC, a taskforce focusing on motor vehicle crime.
The BMW was soon seen driving on the wrong side of the road past Gowrie Primary School while its driver, not the teen, pointed the pistol at a civilian. The teen then pointed the gun out the window at a female pedestrian on Castleton Crescent.
The stolen car started doing burnouts on the sports oval at Calwell High School early that afternoon, close to students, while the driver, not the teen, also aimed the pistol at students.
The car then sped towards three schoolgirls sitting on the oval, and the teen put his arm out the window, pointed the gun at them and screamed, “Get on the ground, motherf-r”.
The high school went into lockdown for two hours due to the incident.
The BMW was driven into a police car in Theodore before those inside it tried to flee on foot, but the teen was arrested nearby.
He was granted bail over this incident before he and a 19-year-old woman went into the Canberra Outlet Centre in Fyshwick on 27 February 2025, where they stole a pair of shoes from a store.
When the pair was confronted, the teen pulled a machete out of his pants and threatened two staff members.
The pair fled the scene and the centre was placed into lockdown after the incident.
The teen was found inside a stolen vehicle on 5 March and has remained in custody since then.
The now-18-year-old, who legally cannot be named due to his age at the time of his offences, went on to plead guilty to eight charges, including acting to cause public alarm and joint commission robbery.
A published decision by the ACT Childrens Court Magistrate James Stewart, which was released this week, outlined the extremely traumatic childhood faced by the teen.
He has been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and said he has a “need” for alcohol and illicit substances.
The magistrate accepted there was no proof the pistol had been a working or loaded firearm, but also said one of the girls at Calwell High gave a “vivid and harrowing” account of the incident.
“The car initially came at her head-on. It then slipped and slid on the grass as it passed her as someone pointed a gun directly at her and told her to get down ‘motherf-r,'” Magistrate Stewart said.
“She was terrified and was worried that she was going to die.”
The teen was convicted and sentenced to a total of two years and one month’s jail to be suspended after 15 months. As it was backdated to account for time served, he will be released in June 2026.
The 19-year-old woman has already faced court over her role in the robbery.
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