Man charged over allegedly ‘swinging machete’ near Melbourne injecting room
Police have laid charges after a man was allegedly spotted ‘swinging a machete’ near Melbourne’s controversial safe drug injecting facility.
A man has been charged after allegedly wielding a machete near Melbourne’s controversial safe injecting room.
Police responded to reports of a “man swinging a machete” near Lennox St in North Richmond about 4pm on Thursday.
“Police were also told that a man had been hit with the machete,” a spokesman said in a statement.
“Officers attended and arrested two men and located a machete.”
The alleged victim was located by police a short distance away and managed to escape without any injuries.
Police have since charged a St Kilda man, 39, with affray, possessing a prohibited weapon and offences against the Bail Act.
Nhan Tu appeared briefly in the Melbourne Magistrates Court on Friday, where no bail application was made.
The court heard he required medical attention in custody due to withdrawing from heroin.
The police spokesman said the other man taken into custody was exonerated.
It has been a troubled year for the controversial North Richmond injecting room facility.
Earlier this week squatters set up camp outside the facility, with makeshift tents erected using blankets and cardboard boxes.
A medical waste disposal bin could be seen hanging from one of the makeshift structures.
In March, parents of students at the nearby Richmond West Primary School hosted a “community in crisis” meeting to demand action from the state government to address the issues with the facility.
Just prior to that meeting a man allegedly carrying a knife was arrested on the school grounds, while drug users have also been caught urinating at the gate outside the school.
The injecting room’s two-year trial came to an end in July last year, but the Andrews government extended the trial site for another three years and is preparing to trial a second facility in Melbourne’s CBD.
Several locations have been flagged for the second safe injecting room, which has also caused a stir among local businesses and residents.
Mr Tu will next appear in court on July 26.
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