A 47-year-old man has been taken into custody by Victoria Police, suspected of involvement in a disturbing incident where a car was deliberately set alight at a rabbi's family home in Melbourne's inner south-east on Christmas Day.
Christmas Morning Attack in St Kilda East
The alarming event unfolded in the early hours of December 25 at a property on Balaclava Road in St Kilda East. Emergency services received reports of a Mazda CX-8 on fire at approximately 2:50 am.
The vehicle, which was notably decorated with a "Happy Chanukah" sign on its roof, sustained severe interior damage from the blaze before firefighters could extinguish it. At the time of the attack, the rabbi was away from the home with his daughter.
Family's Terrifying Escape
The rabbi's wife and their children were asleep inside the house when the fire started. The family was woken by the car's alarm sounding just before 3 am. After smelling smoke, the mother urgently gathered her three young children—aged just one, four, and ten—and fled the property to safety.
Miraculously, no one was physically injured. Reflecting on the trauma, a family member later expressed their fear, stating, "It's terrifying that we have to live like this, that (the mother) has to take (them) out of their beds at 3am in the morning because her car is on fire that can spread to the house."
Police immediately treated the blaze as suspicious and, as a precaution, evacuated the wife and three children from the home while investigations commenced.
Arrest Made in Richmond
Following an intensive investigation, police made a breakthrough just under two weeks after the Christmas Day attack. Officers arrested a 47-year-old man on Victoria Street in Richmond at about 9 am on Tuesday.
The suspect is currently in custody and is yet to be formally interviewed by investigators. The arrest marks a significant development in a case that has shaken the local community and raised serious concerns.
Authorities continue their work to establish a clear motive and the full circumstances surrounding the targeted incident.
