Three children have been arrested and charged after allegedly assaulting a convenience store worker on the job.
At least five youths stormed into the Ezy Mart in Adelaide’s Rundle Mall at 10:20pm on Wednesday night and assaulted the shopkeeper before causing a mess.
Three girls, two aged just 12 and one, 13, who cannot be named for legal reasons, have since been reprimanded by police and released on bail.
CCTV footage from inside the convenience store shows the group shoving the worker and grabbing at his throat before making their way inside.
A group of five youths ransacked a convenience store and allegedly assaulted the shopkeeper in Adelaide’s Rundle Mall at 10:20pm on Wednesday night
Three girls, two aged 12 and one 13, have since been accused of stealing lighters and assault
The footage shows the youths pouring a drink on the ground at the entrance of the store before the worker attempts to make them leave.
In retaliation the man is grabbed and shoved into the corner where he is kicked, throttled and threatened by one girl, who raises her fist before grabbing his collar.
As two girls continue jostling the worker the others make their way inside, where one girl empties several boxes of goods that were on the counter.
Adelaide’s youth court has heard that the group of five entered the store and stole lighters before they began to act erratically.
‘The victim has recognised the two from previous encounters and told them they were not allowed to enter the store,’ a police prosecutor said, as reported by the Advertiser.
‘They began verbally abusing the victim and stealing lighters before kicking the victim.’
The court heard that the worker was ‘slammed’ into shelving before being dragged to the front of the store where ‘they continuously slapped and pushed before he started to fight back in self defence’.
The store is located in the centre of Adelaide and the storekeeper told police that he had recognised two of the girls from an earlier encounter
The five youths fled the scene before police arrived but were found at the Bowden Railway Station, 4km from Rundle Mall, at 11pm.
Two of the teens, 12 and 13, were on bail at the time for unrelated offences.
The two were granted bail for their actions on Wednesday but Magistrate Kate Hodder told them that the allegations against them were ‘very serious’.
Both girls will return to court in November.
Another girl, 12, was arrested and charged with aggravated assault and theft and has been released on bail to return to court at a later date.
Police confirmed outside of the court that they had spoken to the other two girls involved in the incident and confirmed that they’re still investigating the matter.