Terrified mothers, kids flee machete-wielding gangs at Woodgrove Shopping Centre
Police have charged two teenagers after terrifying footage emerged of a violent brawl in a shopping centre in Melbourne’s northwest, forcing horrified shoppers to flee.
Police & Courts
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Two teenage boys have been arrested after terrified mothers and children were forced to flee a western suburbs shopping centre after a group of machete-wielding men became involved in a bloodied brawl on Monday.
Detectives understand the group, armed with various weapons, launched their frightening attack inside the Woodgrove Shopping Centre in Melton about 5pm.
Multiple witnesses say they saw the group, who they believed to be teenagers, throwing chairs and waving knives and machetes.
Horrific footage shows two assailants, one armed with an axe, attack another, who was armed with a machete near the KFC.
The lone offender seems to trip over after a bucket of water that was thrown on him before the axe was launched into his body.
The thug then goes after his rivals with the machete swinging in the air before a shopper throws a chair at him.
He then takes a huge swing at the shopper’s back as he tries to evade the hooded youth.
Police on Tuesday arrested two youths after a 15-year-old boy from Weir Views was taken to hospital with head injuries after the brawl.
A 16-year-old boy was arrested and charged with affray, possess prohibited weapon and being armed with criminal intent.
The boy, 16, applied for bail in a children’s court on Tuesday but his application was refused.
He was remanded to return to court next month.
The other boy, 15, was charged with affray and possessing a controlled weapon that police allege to be a tomahawk without excuse.
His matter was briefly heard at a children’s court on Wednesday, with the child set to apply for bail later this month.
Charli, a young food court worker, said she saw one of the teens leave “covered in blood”.
She, along with several other staff in the centre, said security officers took far too long to respond.
“They were throwing chairs and signs, we saw one guy (leave the centre) and his head was covered in blood,” she said.
“We had no idea what to do, we didn’t know whether to run or not. Security got there like five minutes after but they couldn’t do anything.
“It scared us because it was so close, you just don’t feel safe at all.”
Her colleague, who wished not to be named, said she saw the “massive” machete being waved in the air as the attack unfolded.
She said it was likely two opposing youth gangs waging war against each other.
“One had an axe, they were just going at each other,” she said.
“There was a trail of blood everywhere.
“The machete was massive, it was terrifying … especially after what happened in Bondi.
“It was like 2v1, they were definitely young teens.
“It looked like one of them had a little cousin with them and they were just screaming.”
Another senior worker within the food precinct said Monday’s attack just metres from his shop confirmed his position on whether to leave Australia for his native home of New Zealand.
The Melton West local said violence had reached a “tipping point” for him and his young family.
“I’ve actually decided to live back in New Zealand. I bought a house here around the corner last year but it’s not safe,” he said.
“There’s so much violence around, I have a 10 and five-year-old, they shouldn’t be around this.
“This isn’t normal, they can’t be coming in with knives and machetes like that.”
One woman, who was forced to flee with her five-year-old child, said she was “disgusted” with the group given the horrific events that took place at Bondi Junction on Saturday.
“Kids brawling, throwing chairs around. One guy waving a machete around. Ran out with my kids and advised everyone walking in to turn around,” she said.
“You would think these idiots would take pause after what happened in Bondi. I’m so disgusted that I had to explain to my five-year-old why we had to run out of the shops.
“Woodgrove needs a police presence for all hours that it’s open and these little turds need harsher punishments. There is zero value for human life.”
Another group of terrified mothers fled with their children into a baby changing room as the chaos unfolded.
“It was a machete that a teen pulled out,” Steph Irlam posted to social media.
“(It) happened right where the play area is in front of the parents/babies changing room.
“My three kids and I ran into the parents room with a group of mums and young kids.
“(It’s) sad that my six-year-old was so scared because he saw the machete.”
Another witness told the Herald Sun she saw the group, believed to be a Sudanese crew, leaving the shopping centre dripping with blood.
“I saw three teens walking quickly towards the exit. One was holding what looked like a jumper to his head and I could see quite a lot of blood,” the woman said.
Witness Ronald Megna said he saw a man wielding a “large knife” had several objects thrown at him before he fled.
“(Police) came late, security nothing, shopping centre didn’t even put evacuation alarm on, it’s just a joke that shopping centre.”
One of the men was taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
Police were on Tuesday morning yet to locate the other offenders.
The shopping hub in January boosted their security stocks after a violent knife attack involving a group of teenagers sent it into lockdown.
“One of them pulled out a machete and swung it at one of the other boy’s backs,” one woman said at the time.
A mother of a teen who was at the centre during the “horrifying” incident came to collect her daughter but was unable to contact her because members of the warring groups had allegedly stolen her phone.
The 13-year-old girl’s mother, who wished to remain anonymous, said her daughter witnessed the entire “terrifying” ordeal before the teens allegedly involved in the affray stole her phone along with three of her friends’ devices.
“My daughter and her friends are very shaken up, they are all just 13 years old,” the Melton mother said.
“It was horrible, the poor guy who got axed in the head was running around the shopping centre and there was blood pouring everywhere … I had to go get my daughter.”
“She rang me to come get here but between the call and me arriving they stole her phone, I told her to just run out and meet me where I always pick her up.”
“This is crazy, after the Bondi stabbing then the church stabbing, the world is falling apart, this stuff always happens at Woodgrove in Melton but no one hears about it.”
“My daughter is not allowed to go there without me from now on.”
Woodgrove Shopping Centre Centre manager Kylie Robertson told the Herald Sun that further security was deployed after Monday’s attack.
“Woodgrove Shopping Centre’s security personnel rapidly responded to a security incident yesterday with support from Victoria Police,” she said.
“We are grateful no customers, retailers or security were harmed and we continue to assist authorities with their investigation.
“To provide our community with some assurance and additional comfort following the tragic events that occurred at Westfield Bondi Junction on Saturday, we have already deployed additional security staff on site and have worked with Local Area Police in Melton to support a heightened level of security across the local area.”
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