A man has been rushed to hospital and terrified shoppers have been forced to bunker down in locked stores after a massive brawl involving machetes.
Emergency services rushed to Preston’s Northland Shopping Centre in Melbourne’s north shortly after 2.30pm on Sunday.
The busy shopping centre was plunged into lockdown after a brawl in an outdoor food court broke out between two rival groups of up to 10 males, some allegedly armed with machetes.
Two males, including a 15-year-old boy, have since been arrested while a man aged in his 20s suffering upper body injuries was rushed to Royal Melbourne Hospital in a serious but stable condition.
The shopping centre remains an active crime scene on Sunday night.
Police have located one machete but confirmed no guns were involved.
Terrified shoppers were forced to run for their lives from the centre while others sought refuge in shuttered stores, including Kmart, Myer and Smiggle.
One customer Jason, told Daily Mail he had been shopping when ‘people started running and all the shops locked their doors’.
‘We stayed inside Kmart for about an hour before they finally let everyone leave.’
Other frightened shoppers took to social media to share updates.
‘The world is mad. Just got home from Northland! Was locked in a store room in Myer, staff were fantastic. Still shaken. Hope injured will be okay,’ one wrote.
Another added: ‘Some guys with machetes apparently. We just arrived and everyone was running out telling us to run,’ one said.
A third reported: ‘My daughter is currently locked in Smiggle and called me saying someone running around with knives.
A fourth added: ‘My friends are in a shop calming the staff down. They heard all the shouting and went into the nearest shop and got the staff to lock the doors.’
Shoppers in locked stores recalled seeing ‘traumatising’ scenes when they were finally able to leave the centre.
‘By the time we got out it was all police taped, there was paper towel covered in blood all over the floor, there were (paramedics), helicopters and about 70 police officers,’ one woman wrote
‘As we were walking out there was a young guy in handcuffs. Fair to say my kids are a little traumatised!’
Others shoppers described the incident as absolute chaos’.
Chris told 3AW there was no PA system in the centre, and police were directing terrified shoppers to ‘just go, just go’ at the centre’s exits.
‘We got in our car, hit gridlock trying to get out,’ he said.
Footage showed three men facing off in the centre’s outdoor food court.
Photos showed two young men pinned to the ground by police after the incident.
‘It’s chaos there at the moment, it’s absolute chaos.’
Police alleged the brawl was a planned meet-up between opposing groups.
‘The exact circumstances surrounding the incident are being investigated but it is believed the incident was targeted and parties are believed to be known to each other,’ a statement read.
Anyone who witnessed the incident or has information or footage is urged to come forward.
The Victorian state government will ban machetes in September 1, when the weapon will become classified as a prohibited weapon.
The UK recently led a similar reform enacting the ban within 18 months. The Victorian government insists they would do it in six months.
An amnesty will run from September 1 to November 30. During that time, people will be able to safely dispose of their knives without committing a crime.
Prohibited weapons are strictly regulated in Victoria. Penalties of two years imprisonment or a fine of over $47,000 for being caught in possession will apply.
Victoria Police want the machete ban fast-tracked in the wake of Sunday’s incident.
‘I think that there’s no secret that Victoria Police would like to see those put in place as soon as possible,’ Superintendent Kelly Lawson said.
‘We are really concerned about the use of bench weapons, but we are doing all that we can in relation to that in making public places safe.’