Third teen charged following violent incident in Adelaide shopping centre

A Westfield in Adelaide has been evacuated over reports of an armed offender.

Police have confirmed an incident is underway at Westfield Marion at Oaklands Park.

There are reports of an armed offender, although it’s not yet known if anyone has been injured.

Shoppers have been evacuated from the centre.

Police are now on the scene and are telling people to stay away from the area. 

About 3pm on Sunday, police received reports of two groups of young males fighting in the food court area of the shopping centre.

Westfield Marion Shopping Centre in Adelaide was evacuated and locked down as a result.

According to a police report, some of the individuals involved were reported to have weapons.

South Australia Police reported “expandable batons” could be seen on the CCTV footage and reports have suggested a knife may have been involved.

Despite an extensive search, Special Tasks and Rescue officers were unable to locate the groups responsible for the altercation at the time.

The 15-year-old, to be arrested is set to appear in the Adelaide Youth Court at the “earliest opportunity”.

All three have been charged with assault, affray and aggravated robbery.

It will be alleged the brawl arose as a result of a robbery of clothing from one of the youths involved.

“The incident is not believed to be random,” a police statement read.

The two teens originally arrested appeared in the Adelaide Youth Court on Monday.

The incident caused at least two injuries during the evacuation process: a woman in her 70s and a young girl.

Both injuries were not a result of the altercation but occurred during the chaotic evacuation.

In response to the disturbance, centre management activated an alert and evacuation alarm before placing the shopping centre in lockdown.

CCTV footage has reportedly shown three boys targeting another group of youths, whom they chased through the centre and into the David Jones store.

Assistant Commissioner Scott Duval said on Sunday: “I have looked at the CCTV. It involves three youths – and I will call them boys under 18 years of Caucasian appearance”.

“They approached another group of boys and an altercation occurred. The expandable batons are seen and at this stage we cannot discount any other weapons, but we have reports that a knife may be involved,” he said.

“These three boys chased the other boys through the centre and through the CCTV we were able to see they entered the David Jones store.”

Authorities are continuing their investigation to locate any outstanding suspects involved in the incident.

The scene at the shopping centre was described as chaotic by witnesses with people running in all directions to escape.

Footage posted on social media has shown heavily armed officers, some in riot gear, approaching the centre.

Police have urged anyone with information to contact Crime Stoppers or reach out to South Australia Police.