A Melbourne woman was slapped across the face and forced to sit in her front room as a dozen "thugs" ransacked her house in a terrifying home invasion.
Police believe the same young men could be linked to two other street assaults on teenage boys and another home invasion in a violent crime spree in the city's west on Thursday night.
"This is incredibly concerning, the behaviours are abhorrent, it's just thuggish behaviour," Commander Russell Barrett told reporters on Friday.
The 59-year-old woman was struck across the face as the men, described as being of African appearance, smashed the glass door at her Hillside home at 11.30pm on Thursday.
