A Melbourne shopping centre has been locked down after reports of African teens fighting with machetes, with at least one person injured and up to 10 people involved in a pre-arranged brawl.
Chaos erupted at Northland Shopping Centre in Preston at about 2.30pm on Sunday afternoon, with customers forced to hide inside stores while heavily armed police descended on the mall.
Victoria Police confirmed they responded to reports of “numerous people fighting” within six minutes, and photos from inside the centre show at least one African male armed with a machete.
Other photos from eyewitnesses show youths being arrested, and video shows at least one being led away in handcuffs.
Ambulance Victoria said a man in his 20s was taken to Royal Melbourne Hospital with upper body injuries, and is in a serious but stable condition.
Two people were arrested, including a 15-year-old boy, and it’s alleged two rival groups arranged to meet at the shopping centre before the incident unfolded, the Herald Sun reported.
Reports of a stabbing at Northland
Shoppers locked in stores @3AW693 pic.twitter.com/FiktgpFc9K— Madelaine Burke (@Madelaine_Burke) May 25, 2025
“It was a planned event, they had prearranged to meet here,” a Victoria Police spokeswoman said.
“The exact circumstances surrounding the incident are being investigated but it is believed the incident was targeted and parties are believed to be known to each other.”
The shopping centre remains closed while police investigate.
The brawl in the latest in a series of alleged incidents involving African gangs at Melbourne shopping centres in recent years, and comes after Premier Jacinta Allan imposed a machete ban in response to the city’s knife crime epidemic.
The machete ban comes into effect on September 1.
Header image: Left, right, photos from eyewitnesses at the scene (X, Facebook).
