A man went on a rampage at a Sydney petrol station, causing hundreds of dollars in damage and sparking fears of a potential disaster when he lit a lighter near fuel pumps. The incident occurred at the Blacktown Metro service station at 8:30am on Thursday.
The 27-year-old man entered the store and asked to use Pay ID to buy cigarettes. When the manager explained he couldn't leave without the transaction going through, the man began hurling food off shelves and kicking drinks onto the ground.
Security footage shows the man smoking as staff tried to call police. The rampage continued outside, where he hurled firewood at the bowsers and pulled pumps to the ground while smoking next to them. He also had a lighter and threatened to burn the station.
Station co-owner Dipti Patel said, “He had a lighter as well, and he was, you know, reading that he will burn. So that’s why we have to call police.” Station manager Krunalsinh Dodiya added, “That’s a very scary thing. What if something happens to us?”
When police arrived minutes later, the man allegedly attempted to hit them before officers tasered him and arrested him on Richmond Road. It is also alleged the man assaulted a 10-year-old boy minutes before the petrol station incident.
The man was taken to Blacktown Police Station and charged with common assault and malicious damage. In a separate incident, another man drove off without paying for $83 worth of fuel.
