Four teenagers have been charged over an alleged brawl involving machete-wielding African and Pacific Islander gangs at a Melbourne shopping centre where another teen was attacked by six males with machetes two days later.
On Thursday two rival groups of males allegedly armed with machetes and swords fought inside a JD Sports store at Pacific Werribee in Hoppers Crossing, and two wounded teenagers aged 14 and 16 later took themselves to hospital for treatment.
Then on Saturday a 14-year-old boy was allegedly attacked by six males wielding machetes inside the shopping centre at about 4.40pm, and was taken to hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
The six alleged offenders then fled in a black Hyundai i30 sedan while being pursued by police.
Victoria Police on Monday morning searched multiple homes and arrested four males aged 14 and 16 from the Wyndham, Brimbank and Melton areas over the first alleged incident.
They were all charged with affray but released on bail to face a children’s court at a later date, and a search is underway for a fifth suspect.
A witness told Wyndham TV they saw “huge machetes” being used in the alleged attack, which involved about a dozen teens of African and Islander appearance and left blood throughout the store and inside a nearby Kmart.
“So me and my older brother were going to get dinner at the food court walking past Foot Locker and there had to be around 12 kids where it happened. Five walked out of the store and we heard yelling. I look over and I see Islanders running at three dark individuals and then there was a big fight,” the shopper said.
The alleged attacks come after Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan installed 40 “machete bins” around Melbourne at the cost of $13 million where criminals can dispose of the weapons during an amnesty period as part of a ban that comes into effect on September 1.
Locals at Hoppers Crossing said they weren’t convinced that ban was going to work, as machete-wielding thugs “aren’t scared of getting caught”.
“No criminal is going to casually drop off a machete into a bin at the police station,” one resident said.
“If we keep banning tools, there’ll be nothing left on the shelves at Bunnings,” said another.
Header image: Left, right, police at the scene on August 9 (Facebook).
