Two men have been hospitalised after a horror machete attack in Melbourne just before midnight on New Year’s Eve.
Police and emergency services were called to Lygon Street, Carlton, at about 11.45pm on Wednesday and found two men with serious injured after being viciously attacked outside a restaurant.
A group of about seven men armed with machetes and knives fled the scene in cars, and police said they were investigating whether the incident was “targeted”.
The two men, a 20-year-old from Heidelberg West and an 18-year-old from NSW, were rushed to hospital with serious injuries.
Video of the aftermath by 9News shows crowds gathered at the restaurant strip while police set up a crime scene.
Elsewhere in Melbourne a 15-year-old boy was bashed by three attackers on the Southbank Promenade and lost a tooth, while police made 18 arrests for various incidents including assaults, driving and property offences, and two people suffered fireworks injuries.
Melbourne’s CBD along with St Kilda and Geelong declared “designated areas” by police, allowing them to carry out weapons searches.
Header image: Crowds at the scene (9News).
