By Cassandra Morgan and Sherryn Groch
A teen was on bail, nursing a previous stab wound and in the company of banned associates when he got involved in a wild machete brawl at Northland shopping centre, a court has been told.
Court documents reveal how the violent altercation unfolded – spilling out from an ambush down an alleyway, to the car park and then a busy food court where bystanders were forced to jump into the fray as terrified shoppers fled.
Police patrol Northland shopping centre in Preston after Sunday’s brawl.Credit: Eddie Jim
As the new details were aired in court on Wednesday, Victoria’s fast-tracked ban on machete sales took effect at midday, but it was immediately surrounded by confusion around the classification of the weapon and revelations the interim ban will expire about five days before a permanent prohibition comes into force.
Abel Sorzor, 18, from Thornhill Park, is alleged to be part of the ‘8rs’ gang, from Melbourne’s west, which met with a group of rivals at Northland on Sunday afternoon.
A summary before Heidelberg Magistrates’ Court said Sorzor and his crew were confronted in an alleyway outside the food court by another unnamed gang.
Police allege the warring rivals descended into punching and kicking each other, until the 8rs all drew out machetes concealed down their pants and began slashing at their opponents.
CCTV footage, which was not released publicly, showed Sorzor among those brandishing a machete and advancing on the other gang members, court documents allege.
As the 8rs chased their rivals into the food court packed with shoppers, police say, several gang members were struck with machetes, often “in very close proximity to the civilians caught between” them, until bystanders intervened to stop the brawl.
While two people were arrested at the shopping centre, including one caught in a citizen’s arrest, others fled in a car or were escorted out by security. Sorzor handed himself into police on Tuesday.
Sorzor’s lawyer, Ding Makuei, told the court her client had been on a good behaviour order for previous matters, and had an old stab wound to his stomach, received about six or seven months ago. She requested that he see medical staff about his wound, noting he had never been on remand before. While the 18-year-old had been prescribed medication for the wound, he did not want to take it.
Sitting in court, Sorzor told the magistrate: “Nah, I try not to take medication. I might be on it, but I don’t take it.”
Meanwhile, in an unrelated incident on Wednesday, a police officer was injured while responding to reports of a fight at a shopping centre in the city’s south-east.
Police were called to Chadstone shopping centre in Malvern East about 1.30pm, where they arrested two men. Police believe several males were involved in the altercation, and were known to each other.
The officer sustained a minor injury, and police say no one else was injured during the incident.
After the Northland brawl, the Allan government used consumer law to fast track a machete ban, but it is now negotiating with the Commonwealth to properly enforce it. Under the law, state ministers can only issue interim product safety bans for a total of 90 days and the temporary order expires days before a permanent ban can come into effect in September.
Further extensions need to be made in consultation with the Commonwealth, Consumer Affairs Victoria director Nicole Rich confirmed.
Consumer Affairs Minister Nick Staikos said on Wednesday that discussions were continuing with the Commonwealth and extensions beyond 90 days were a matter for the federal government.
Before Wednesday, Premier Jacinta Allan repeatedly defined machetes as bladed weapons of 20 centimetres or longer.
“We have been very clear in terms of both the type of weapon and how we intend to move quickly and safely working with Victoria Police to bring about this ban, and the amnesty that will commence from [September 1],” Allan said when announcing the fast-tracked ban on Monday.
Examples of machetes retailers are being warned not to sell.Credit: Victorian government
But Rich clarified on Wednesday that the ban applied to all machetes, and there was no requirement for the weapons to meet a certain length.
“There’s no requirement that a machete is or isn’t a particular length, or under or over a particular length,” Rich said. “Anything that an ordinary person would understand to be a machete is banned.
“I think people in the community understand what a machete is.”
The Victorian government’s official gazette for the ban includes sample images of machetes, and describes them as “large broad-bladed cutting knives”.
Staikos said any retailers who needed clarification about what a machete was should contact Consumer Affairs Victoria.
Retailers who breach the ban face jail time and fines of up to $200,000.
Police have now arrested seven people allegedly involved in the Northland brawl, including Sorzor.
Magistrate Helen Murphy granted the police request to revoke Sorzor’s bail.
He was remanded in custody to next appear in court on June 18 on charges including affray.
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