A former Married at First Sight contestant says he has no idea why his car dealership was targeted by arsonists in an overnight firebombing.
James Susler, a business owner and contestant on season eight of the reality show, only opened his Chery Melbourne City dealership five days ago.
Overnight it was damaged in an arson attack after two men jumped a fence, smashed open the front of the building on Plummer Street in Port Melbourne early this morning and set fire to a car inside.
James Susler opened his car dealership in Port Melbourne five days ago.© 9News
Susler told Today he did not know why the offenders chose to firebomb his newly-opened dealership.
“I know as much as you guys do,” Susler said.
“It’s not the best, ideal situation… We’ll move on from this, we’ll get bigger and stronger.”
It is understood the dealership had not been previously threatened.
The unknown offenders bypassed a security guard who was hired to protect the building.
Nobody was inside at the time of the attack.
The pair fled the scene before firefighters arrived about 4.50am.
It took 30 firefighters and an aerial unit to control the blaze, which was extinguished by 5.23am.
Susler told Today he did not know why the offenders chose to firebomb his newly-opened dealership.© 9News
It took 30 firefighters and an aerial unit to control the blaze, which was extinguished within half an hour.© 9News
The Port Phillip Crime Investigation Unit is now investigating the fire.
Susler opened the Chery dealership on May 1, describing it as the culmination of “countless days of hard work”.
“We’ve poured everything into creating a space you’ll love and we couldn’t be more proud to welcome you into Australia’s biggest Chery showroom,” Chery said in a post on Instagram.
It is unknown if the firebombing is linked to a string of similar arson attacks targeting Melbourne nightclubs.
Victoria Police’s specialist Operation Eclipse taskforce was established to investigate organised crime groups believed to be responsible for the incidents at hospitality venues in the CBD, South Melbourne and Prahran.
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