Melbourne has been rocked by a tobacco shop firebombing, marking another week of suspicious fires across the city.
Sounds of an explosion echoed through St Georges Rd near Holden St in Fitzroy North about 3.45am on Monday.
The fire quickly engulfed the tobacco shop and spread to the businesses next door.
The shop was closed at the time of the suspicious attack and destroyed.
Police say a dark vehicle was seen leaving the scene.
The investigation is ongoing and no arrests have been made.
The latest suspicious fire marks the second week of firebombings across the city.
Several cars have been torched and businesses have been ramraided and set alight.
The chaos kicked off on Monday October 5, when a group of teenagers allegedly firebombed two cars in Taylors Hill, leaving a 13-year-old boy with critical injuries.
“It is believed the injured teen had attempted to flee in a white Hyundai Tucson before the vehicle crashed into bushes,” police said.
The young boy has undergone surgery and remains in a critical condition a week later, a hospital spokesman told NewsWire.
Police are investigating a string of arson attacks in driveways across Melbourne, two of which occurred hours apart.
Two 16-year-olds and a 15-year-old were arrested.
One 16-year-old was charged with conduct endangering life, recklessly cause serious injury in circumstances of gross violence, arson, theft of motor vehicle and commit indictable offence while on bail.
The other 16-year-old was charged with conduct endangering life, recklessly cause serious injury in circumstances of gross violence, arson and theft of motor vehicle.
The 15-year-old was released and is expected to be charged on summons.
A cosmetics business in Bundoora had its front windows smashed in the early hours of Tuesday, with the owner saying online someone “came in and tried to destroy everything”.
“We are going to fix everything and we are going to come back better from this. It won’t bring us down,” she said.
Earlier the same day, a car was firebombed in the driveway of a home in Keilor.
The chaos continued on Tuesday night after an unknown man reversed a car into a fruit and vegetable shop in Werribee, trying to set fire to the building after smashing into the front of the premises.
He failed to set the building alight and fled the scene in a second car.
Two hours later, on Wednesday morning, officers were called to a home in Balwyn North after two cars were set alight, with the fire spreading to the nearby house.
Hours later, a car was torched in Maidstone, with the fire spreading to the neighbouring two-storey home.
“The fire spread to the house and two occupants were able to get out unharmed,” police said at the time.
No arrests have been made.
Cars were set alight and destroyed in Reservoir on Thursday.
On Friday morning, police were called to the driveway of a home in Hampton Park after reports a car was on fire.
Nationals MP Tim McCurdy said the state was sick of waking up to reports of another “terrifying” firebombing in the city.
“This is a busy local shopping strip, and two innocent businesses next door have been caught up in a criminal turf war that the Carroll Labor government has let run out of control,” he said.
“These attacks are happening in the middle of the night, terrifying families and business owners, and it is no surprise that we are behind every other mainland state in tackling the core of this problem.”
Anyone who witnessed the incident or has footage of the suspicious fire in Fitzroy North is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.