Melbourne tobacco store rammed, set on fire in second attack in two days
A Melbourne tobacco store has been rammed and then set alight in the second targeted attack by arsonists in as many days.
A car rammed the Free Choice tobacco store in Pier Street, Altona, not long after 4am.
The store was then set alight, causing extensive damage and impacting surrounding shopfronts.
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The burnt-out car that smashed through the Free Choice tobacco store this morning. 9News
Fire crews were called to the blaze just before 5am.
A crime scene has been established and a specialist Arson Squad will attend to examine what sparked the fire.
It comes after the same tobacco store had its windows smashed and jerry cans thrown inside, sparking a fire, in the early hours of yesterday morning.
Investigators are treating both incidents as linked targeted attacks and will be investigating any links to other recent fires.
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The Free Choice tobacconist in Altona has been gutted by today's blaze, after escape major damage from yesterday's attack. 9News
A nearby store owner told Today they were unsurprised by the second attack, after the store managed to escape major damage in yesterday's fire.
More than 30 tobacco stores have been torched since last March, in an ongoing war between two rival Melbourne crime gangs for control of the illegal tobacco trade.
Anyone who witnessed the Altona attacks or who may have dashcam or CCTV footage is urged to report it to police.
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