Shoalwater brick attack: victim of robbery speaks out after vicious assault

A 20-year-old woman has spoken of her horror as she was attacked with a brick and robbed in the latest assault to occur in the Shoalwater area.

Melodie Hunt said she was walking home from a friend’s house with her earphones in between 11.30pm and midnight on Sunday when a brick was thrown at the back of her head and again seconds later at her back.

“The guy came up and threw a brick in the back of my head, I didn’t fall down, I didn’t collapse and then I turned around and realised there was someone there and he threw the brick again,” she said.

“That was enough to make me fall down and he asked for my belongings so I gave him my bag and my phone and he ran about two metres before coming back and asking for the pin number to get into my phone.

“I can’t remember if I gave him the right one to be honest.”

Ms Hunt said she was only around a minute from home when the attack occurred and that she did not see anyone until the brick was thrown.

She made it home to her mother and stepfather who took her to hospital where she received four staples for a wound on the back of her head.

Ms Hunt was stunned by the attack.

“Ok yeah, steal a phone, but to throw a brick, bricking someone – that’s extreme. You could kill someone for that phone,” Ms Hunt said.

“I’ve grown up here, I felt safe – you don’t think it’s going to happen to you.”

Ms Hunt said she does not think she will walk home alone again.

It is the second attack in the area in a month after another woman was seriously assaulted on August 5.

Detective Senior Constable Greg McDougall of Rockingham Detectives said the two assaults bore similarities.

“We are still looking into both incidents but similar circumstances and same area,” he said.

“We are doing the best we can, we have resources in place to try and locate and apprehend the person that is responsible for what has happened in the past month.

Detective Senior Constable McDougall advised people to walk with someone, in well-lit areas and to advise someone of your movements.

He confirmed the victim of the previous assault was left with a fractured skull and facial injuries but has left hospital and is recovering well.