Shots fired again at Prahran’s infamous Love Machine club

Detectives from the armed crime squad are investigating another firearms incident outside Prahran’s notorious Love Machine nightclub, the latest in a string of violent events, including deaths, to plague the inner-city venue.

Police were called to the Malvern Road nightclub about 2.25am on Sunday following reports of a physical fight between a group of people outside the club.

A firearm was discharged during the fight before those involved fled, police said. A spokeswoman said there were no injuries reported.

The fight is the third violent episode in the past few weekends. The club has been the target of repeated violence by members of the Comanchero outlaw motorcycle gang.

Police, who were seen removing CCTV footage from the venue on Sunday morning, would not confirm if Comanchero members were involved in the latest incident.

Several bikies, including the gang’s former national sergeant-at-arms Tarek Zahed, were involved in a brawl with security staff outside the club on July 27 which left three men in hospital with facial injuries.

On Friday, August 8, Comanchero members stormed the venue after another altercation. A 32-year-old man was treated by paramedics at the scene. A 28-year-old man from Narre Warren was later arrested and charged over both incidents, and with possessing a controlled weapon.

The venue’s management announced on social media that it would be closed on the Saturday following the second incident “due to unexpected plumbing issues”.

The club has been a magnet for serious violence. In April, 30-year-old father Ruka Carlson was stabbed to death on Chapel Street after reportedly being chased from Love Machine, following an altercation involving a gun at the premises.

The venue is most infamous for a fatal drive-by shooting in 2019. In that incident, security guard Aaron Khalid Osmani, 37, and patron Richard Arow, 28, were killed when Jacob Elliott fired shots from a 32-calibre assault rifle into the crowd outside. Three other people were struck by bullets and another was injured trying to avoid the attack.

Elliott, 18, and Allan Fares, 22, were convicted of two counts of murder and three counts of attempted murder over the shooting. They were handed life sentences, with minimum terms of 29 years and 27 years respectively.

In June last year, the Victorian Liquor Commission slapped the operators of Love Machine with a $20,000 fine for repeated licensing breaches, warning that the club’s licence was under scrutiny and it would face harsher sanctions if it appeared before the commission again.

Love Machine, which has previously been the target of extortion rackets by the Comanchero and Finks motorcycle gangs, is operated by Sterling Nightclub Pty Ltd.

Anyone with footage or information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or visit www.crimestoppersvic.com.au

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