A “serial pooper” is terrorising a popular Sydney shopping precinct, prompting locals to stay alert after a string of “vile and targeted” attacks allegedly involving human waste hurled from an apartment balcony.
Denise Gray, a mum-of-three from the Sutherland Shire, thought she was the victim of a freak occurrence when she found her car splattered with filth outside the South Village shops in Kirrawee, a family-friendly suburb in south Sydney.
However, after speaking out, she discovered she is just the latest victim in a disturbing pattern of behaviour, according to a local business, that “happens all the time”.
A ‘targeted’ attack
On Sunday afternoon at around 4:30pm, Denise was returning to her car, parked outside the popular 7th Heaven cafe, with her children – aged four, three, and 17 months – after a play session at the nearby park.
While she was getting her kids into the car, she heard a heavy ‘thud’ hit the vehicle.
Initially, she dismissed it, assuming she had misheard, as there were no passing cars nearby.
It wasn’t until a group of onlookers approached her that she realised what had happened.
“At first, I thought it must have been caused by an animal, like a very large bird,” she told news.com.au.
“But once I realised it was human faeces, I was completely shocked and disgusted.”
MORE:Roxy’s big move on infamous ‘poo jogger’ site
MORE: Mapped: Aussie suburbs under siege by magpies
Looking up, she saw the balconies of the South Village Apartments – owned separately from the Mirvac shopping complex below – overlooking the street.
Denise believes the timing was no accident.
“I think someone waited until we were attempting to get into our car,” she claims.
“We were parked there for over an hour. I find it incredibly unlikely that it was a coincidence that it happened at the exact moment we were getting into our car. The act itself seemed deliberate, so why wouldn’t the timing be as well?”
Alarmingly, Denise said employees at the nearby cafe told her to “leave quickly” because more waste might be coming, suggesting this was a well-known local issue.
“I was just glad it didn’t hit my children or me,” Denise said.
“My youngest has Down syndrome, and although it would be completely vile for any person to be targeted, there’s something about his vulnerability that makes it even more disgraceful to me.”
The mum has sworn “never” to park in that spot again and might even avoid the area altogether.
The Tesla dashcam evidence
Denise shared her story in a community Facebook group, sparking a wave of similar reports from other locals, including Michelle*, who experienced a near-identical encounter at the same location.
At 6:30pm on March 14, Michelle returned to her Tesla after picking up dinner to find a “foul” smell coming from the car.
“I didn’t see it happen, but poo was thrown from an upper-story apartment onto the bonnet,” she told news.com.au.
After driving home and realising the mess was not from an animal, she and her husband spent the night cleaning the “sickening” splatter and reviewing the dashcam footage.
It captured the moment when what appears to be faeces fell from above and landed on the bonnet of her car.
“We brushed it off as an odd, unfortunate event until I saw the posts online and realised it appears to be more frequent, intentional and targeted,” Michelle said.
The potential motive
While the motive is unknown, some locals suggest a “parking vigilante” could be behind the attacks.
The area where the incidents occurred is a loading zone during certain hours, but reverts to ‘1P’ public parking at other times.
Both Denise and Michelle confirmed they were parked legally under the ‘1P All Other Times’ rule when they were hit.
“Same thing happened to me in the same parking spot. I thought I must have upset someone by parking in their spot,” another woman commented on the post, sharing a photo of a similar incident from January 29.
Others thought it could be a prank filmed for social media.
“I bet it was some teenage boy who thought it was funny,” one person suggested.
Other residents called the behaviour “abhorrent” and a “biohazard” to the children playing just meters away.
Someone else added: “This is actually SHOCKING! The Shire isn’t like it used to be.”
“This world is getting sicker, weirder and more depraved,” a different local mused. “What is wrong with people?”
Many then theorised that drugs or mental health issues may be a factor, saying the person responsible may “need help”.
Criminal charges
NSW Police have confirmed they are aware of the situation.
“Inquiries with centre management security have confirmed similar incidents have occurred at the location previously,” a police spokesperson told news.com.au.
Throwing faeces off a balcony may be treated as a serious criminal matter.
Perpetrators could face charges of common assault, assault occasioning actual bodily harm, public nuisance or malicious damage to property, which may carry heavy fines and up to five years in prison.
South Village Apartments and 7th Heaven Cafe have been contacted for comment.
Read related topics:Sydney