The attack comes amid a surge in knife crime and youth violence in Victoria.
Melbourne: An Indian-origin man had his hand reattached after a brutal machete attack by a group of teenagers in Melbourne. The 33-year-old was ambushed outside a shopping centre, suffering multiple stab wounds, a fractured spine, and the near-severing of his hand in what police have described as a vicious assault.
Saurabh Anand, 33, was walking home after picking up medicine from a pharmacy at Central Square Shopping Centre in Altona Meadows around 7.30 pm on July 19, when he was ambushed by five teenagers.
According to Anand, one of the boys rummaged through his pockets while another punched him repeatedly in the head until he collapsed. A third teen then pulled out a machete and held it to his throat.
"While I was trying to protect myself, the machete just went through my wrist. The second attack went through my hand. The third went through the bone," Anand said. He was also slashed and stabbed in the shoulder and back, suffering a fractured spine, broken bones in his arm, and head injuries.
"All I remember is the pain, and my hand was hanging by a thread." Bloodied and seriously injured, he managed to stumble outside the centre and cry out for help. "I saw someone and I just yelled out, 'I've been attacked. Please help me'."
He was rushed to the Royal Melbourne Hospital, where doctors initially believed they would need to amputate his left hand. After hours of emergency surgery, including the insertion of screws into his wrist and hand, surgeons were able to reattach it.
Police have arrested four teenage boys over the assault and are still searching for a fifth suspect. A 14-year-old boy from Wyndham has been charged with intentionally causing serious injury, recklessly causing injury, robbery, and unlawful assault.
