McBandit alert

By Melissa Meehan
MCDONALD’S restaurants in the South East are on high alert, after three restaurants were attacked by masked bandits in the past week.
The first robbery, in Keysborough, saw two masked men armed with an axe and bladed weapon terrorise staff at the restaurant on the corner of Cheltenham and Perry roads at about 3.20am Monday, where they confronted four young store workers.
The others, in Lynbrook on Monday night, and Cranbourne on Wednesday morning are also being investigated by the Frankston Embona Armed Robbery Task Force.
Police believe the robberies are linked.
Leading Senior Constable John Melhuish said attempts made by the masked men to get into the safe at Keysborough were unsuccessful.
He said they had been “quite hostile” to staff and threatening.
“This is very serious, very upsetting, very traumatic for the victims involved,” he said.
“We do have a few avenues of inquiry that we’re pursuing at the moment.”
The males were described as being in their late teens or early twenties.
Police called a media briefing on Wednesday afternoon to further discuss the Cranbourne robbery, after the Star went to print. See next week’s paper for more information.
A spokesperson for the fast-food giant said the safety and well-being of employees was a top priority and counselling services were being provided.
“We are fully assisting the police with their investigation and have provided CCTV footage. All of our restaurants have also been alerted.”