Machete-wielding offenders wearing balaclavas attack teenager at Doreen service station

Terrifying footage shows a group of assailants set upon an 18-year-old while waving machetes before one of the attackers swings the weapon at the teenager.

Machete-wielding attackers have slashed a teenage boy at a petrol station despite the Allan government outlawing the sale of the dangerous blade.

Terrifying footage shows the moment two offenders in balaclavas set upon an 18-year-old boy as he refuelled his car at a Bridge Inn Rd petrol station in Doreen about 9.50pm on Sunday.

A teenager was set upon while refuelling his car at a Doreen petrol station. Picture: Channel 7

The attackers were wielding machetes. Picture: Channel 7

The offenders were wearing balaclavas. Picture: Channel 7

The terrifying incident unfolded on Sunday night. Picture: Channel 7

The teen was slashed by one attacker. Picture: Channel 7

It comes after Victoria banned machete sales. Picture: Channel 7

The assailants can be seen running towards the boy while waving machetes, before one swung his weapon at the boy.

The pair can then be seen fleeing from the petrol station, while four other people sitting inside the car also took off on foot.

“Where are you, where are you?” one of them yelled as they ran for safety.

It is understood the injured teen was treated for non-life-threatening injuries in hospital. Police are investigating the shocking incident.

It comes just days after the Herald Sun revealed that online retail giant Amazon had pulled machetes off their virtual shelves across the country after this masthead successfully purchased several long blades well after the Allan government’s machete ban was rushed into effect on May 28.

The government was forced to act after rival gangs armed with machetes clashed at Northland shopping centre days earlier in a pre-planned knife fight.

It was later revealed that several of the teens were already on bail for other alleged offences.

Despite the statewide sale ban on machetes, they remained readily available in-store and online for days, with several online retailers in urgent talks with Consumer Affairs Victoria about ways to stop the weapons from flooding into the state.

Major brands are understood to be introducing “geo-blocking” technology, which stops users in a certain location from accessing web pages with banned items.

It will become illegal to both own and sell machetes from September 1.

Plans for secure drop-off locations where Victorians can dispose of their weapons without facing punishment remain unclear, but several police stations will become secure drop-off sites.

A three-month amnesty will then run from September 1 to November 30 for the punishment-free disposal of the prohibited weapons.

Sunday’s attack comes after up to six teens were also involved in a machete brawl at CS Square Shopping Centre in Caroline Springs.

The centre was plunged into lockdown for about 30 minutes on Friday night when the group stormed through the centre, where retailers and shoppers said they were forced to flee from stores.

That brawl was the latest in a string of similar terrifying attacks, which have spiralled out of control in recent years according to crime data.

Since 2014, reported assaults at shopping centres have more than doubled, with the latest Victorian crime data showing a 161 per cent increase over the past decade.

A decade ago, there were 842 reported crimes against the person at shopping centre complexes. Last year, there were 2,312 – a spike of more than 1,400 incidents.

Youth workers have said shopping centres have become popular meet-up spots for gang-linked teens, making the public spaces dangerous for innocent shoppers.