A man has been left in a serious condition and a shopping centre plunged into lockdown following a horror alleged stabbing and an alleged 10-person brawl.
Emergency services rushed to Northland Shopping Centre, Preston, in the north of Melbourne, at 2.39pm on Sunday after receiving reports of an assault.
‘Police are responding to reports of numerous people fighting at a shopping centre on Murray Road in Preston this afternoon,’ a Victoria Police spokeswoman at the time.
Police have since confirmed two men have been arrested.
Paramedics have treated a man in his 20s for injuries to his upper body and have since transported him to Royal Melbourne Hospital in a serious condition.
Another ambulance crew remains on scene, a spokesman confirmed, but it is understood just one victim has been treated so far.
Several police cars and ambulances were on scene on Sunday afternoon. It is understood two opposing groups began fighting, some of whom were armed with knives.
Customers locked themselves in shops inside the centre, after shouting alerted them to the danger on Sunday afternoon.
A Melbourne shopping centre has been plunged into lockdown over reports of a knife fight
Two men have been arrested after police alleged a brawl involving at least ten men broke out
Some reported entering the centre’s Kmart, Myer and Smiggle outlets.
One customer, Jason, told Daily Mail Australia 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.’
Online, many shared early accounts from inside the centre.
‘Some guys with machetes apparently. We just arrived and everyone was running out telling us to run,’ one local said.
‘My daughter is currently locked in Smiggle and called me saying someone running around with knives,’ another said.
‘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,’ a third reported.
Later, when shoppers were permitted to exit the building, a ‘traumatising’ scene awaited.
‘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 shared.
Shoppers were sent running for cover after the fight reportedly broke out in the shopping centre
Images circulating social media appeared to show two young men pinned to the ground by police
‘As we were walking out there was a young guy in handcuffs. Fair to say my kids are a little traumatised!’
An unverified photo circulating the internet appeared to show three men facing off in the centre’s outdoor food court.
Others showed two young men pinned to the ground by police.
A local radio station heard the centre became ‘absolute chaos’, after caller Chris dialled in.
He 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.
‘It’s chaos there at the moment, it’s absolute chaos.’
Dozens of emergency vehicles raced to the scene, with a nearby street littered with police cars and ambulances
Stores locked down with customers left waiting inside for authorities to respond to the incident
Victoria’s Labor Government will ban machetes in September – with the implementation of the law reportedly in line with police advice.
Under the change, machetes will be classified as a prohibited weapon from 1 September 2025.
The UK recently led a similar reform enacting the ban within 18 months. Victorian Labor boasted they would do it in six months.
An amnesty will run from 1 September to 30 November 2025. During that time, people will be able to safely dispose of their knives without committing a crime.
Prohibited weapons are the most strictly regulated in Victoria. Penalties of 2 years imprisonment or a fine of over $47,000 for being caught in possession will apply.
On Sunday morning, Labor MP Steve Dimopoulos reportedly affirmed there was no plan to fast-track the implementation of the ban.
More to come.
Many were left shaken as they were shut out from the centre on Sunday afternoon
Terrified shoppers shared updates from inside the centre over Sunday afternoon
Two men were arrested and taken for interviewing within two hours of the alleged attack