A group of men who attacked and robbed a pregnant woman with a hammer are still on the run.
Four masked men armed with a baseball bat, a hammer and an axe-shaped weapon confronted the 24-year-old woman as she walked through Noble Park on Thursday night, police say.
They demanded her handbag, but before she could give it to them, they attacked.
One man swung the hammer at her three times, striking her on the arm as she put her hands up to protect herself.
As the men took their loot, the injured woman pleaded for them to return her phone as it held ultrasound photos of her unborn child.
In a stroke of mercy, one of the men then threw the phone to the ground before the group sped off.
"Maybe they've had a little bit of respect for the victim in that case," Senior Constable Stephanie Groom told reporters on Friday.
"It was a very traumatic experience for her to go through and obviously we're doing everything we can to help her."
The woman suffered minor injuries in the attack.
Police believe the incident may be connected to an attempted carjacking in Huntingdale earlier on Thursday evening when a driver was approached by three masked men in a similar car, who were armed with hammers.
The victim managed to avoid being carjacked by quickly putting his car into reverse, doing a U-turn and driving off.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Crime Stoppers.
