Young woman stabbed outside Belmont Village shopping centre
A teenage girl has been stabbed outside a Belmont shopping centre in a terrifying attack.
Geelong
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A teenage girl has been stabbed outside Belmont Village in a terrifying incident on Saturday evening.
Victoria Police spokeswoman Julie-Anne Newman said it was believed the victim was approached by two unknown people about 5.30pm.
The victim is understood to be 17 years old.
“The victim sustained a stab wound,” Sergeant Newman said.
“The offenders then fled in a vehicle and are yet to be located.
“The victim was taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.”
An Ambulance Victoria spokesman said the teenager was treated for upper and lower body injuries and was taken to Geelong hospital in a stable condition.
Police are investigating and the exact circumstances surrounding the incident are yet to be determined.
Belmont Village, located on High St, is home to major retailers including Kmart and Coles, and smaller shops including a butcher, a pharmacy and a number of food outlets.
A worker at Belmont Village said the shopping centre was still as busy as usual on Sunday despite the incident.
On Sunday, Barwon Health confirmed the girl had left hospital.
Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
The incident is just the latest violent act at one of Geelong’s shopping centres.
At least two people were allegedly stabbed in or outside Corio Village in 2023, including one incident in the carpark.
A man was also allegedly stabbed at Westfield Geelong that year.
Admissions to Victorian hospitals of people presenting with stab wounds and slashes have doubled in the past decade, despite police figures suggesting the number of stabbings had not spiked in that time.
In 2014, 216 people were treated for knife wounds.
Last year, that figure spiralled to 406 patients.
Adults were still more likely to be stabbed than younger kids, but those aged in the 0-14 age bracket made up the biggest increase in hospital patients.
In 2014, there were no child patients in that age group, but there were 11 last year.
Meanwhile, the number of 15-19-year-olds being treated for stab wounds tripled from 17 to 65 patients.
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