A shopping centre has been thrown into chaos following reports of a stabbing.
Police swarmed Bayside Shopping Centre on Beach Street in Frankston, south-east Melbourne, after a group of teens were allegedly spotted with ‘an edged weapon’ at 10:50am on Tuesday.
One worker told the Herald Sun a ‘substantial amount of blood’ was spotted on the ground prompting staff to close their stores.
Another female staff member added that she had seen ‘quite a large machete’ amongst a group of about five young people.
A shopper said she and her mother had been escorted into a store after the pair saw the pool of blood.
Leigh Warne, who was also shopping at the time, said he saw a teenager covered in blood running towards three others near a Country Road store.
Mr Warne added that security took ‘three to five minutes’ to respond and there ‘were no alarms going off’.
‘People were walking around unaware,’ he said.
Bayside Shopping Centre in Frankston, south-east Melbourne, was locked down after a shopper was allegedly stabbed on Tuesday morning
Mr Warne said other shoppers were yelling at one boy in the group to ‘throw the knife away’.
He described the teens as looking like ‘eshays’ between 15-and-18-years-old and that they were seemingly fighting amongst themselves.
‘I noticed three young kids running toward me with a knife, and then another kid running behind chasing them, he had a lot of blood on him,’ he told the publication.
Mr Warne said the group ran down a set of escalators near a Country Road store as other shops began shutting their doors.
He added that the teens ‘were just there for themselves’ and ‘not looking for members of the public to stab or injure’.
‘It looked like some sort of fight between them,’ he said.
Others on social media also posted about what they had seen.
‘My partner was walking down and all the doors were shut. He saw the kids with the knife and another kid that was bleeding everywhere,’ one user wrote.
Police responded to reports or ‘teenagers causing trouble’ in the centre (pictured) and a spokesperson confirmed that officers found ‘an edged weapon in a nearby bin’
A Victorian Police spokesperson said officers had responded to reports of ‘teenagers causing trouble’ at the shopping centre.
‘During the incident, it is believed one boy had an edged weapon,’ the spokesperson said.
‘Officers attended the scene and located an edged weapon in a nearby bin.’
Police claim no one was injured during the incident and that enquiries are ongoing.
Any witnesses have been urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
The incident had been resolved and stores inside the shopping centre were reopened by 11:45am.
