A plumber has been lured to an unoccupied Sydney home where
he was attacked by men who set fire to his ute, causing fears
gas cylinders on the back could explode.
Emergency crews cleared a 200 metre potential blast radius
and evacuated residents next to the house in Mariana
Crescent, Lethbridge Park, following the incident about 8am
(local time) yesterday.
Just after the man parked his ute, two men attacked him and
set fire to the vehicle.
"He didn't see where they came from and he didn't see the
direction in which they left," Inspector Rebbecca Becroft
told reporters at the crime scene.
Police say the occupants of the home were on holiday,
prompting suspicion he was lured into a targeted attack.
Dozens of residents were evacuated from their homes as police
established a 200m exclusion zone.
The ute contained cylinders of compressed oxygen and
acetylene.
"Acetylene bottles become very unstable when exposed to
heat," Insp Becroft said.
The plumber suffered a bloody nose and a black eye.
Firefighters used water to cool the cylinders before they
were safe to remove.
The operation lasted more than seven hours.
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