Teens with machetes send Melbourne shops into lockdown
A group of teens armed with machetes left shoppers 'terrified' at a Melbourne mall which was forced into lockdown last week.
Footage of the incident showed store owners shutting doors and customers taking cover as up to six boys, some wearing masks, brawled at Caroline Springs Shopping Centre on Friday.
It came just a week after the Victorian government fast-tracked a ban on the sales of machetes, following a shocking brawl at another shopping centre in Preston in May.
Witnesses to Caroline Springs incident spoke of being 'extremely terrified' as the teens argued before squaring up with large knives.
Pawan Kaur, who runs a cafe at the centre in Melbourne's west, was behind the counter when the brawl broke out about 6.40pm.
'I was so scared, like my heartbeat go … I just quickly go and shut my cafe and tell the staff 'don't leave'.'
Another store owner, Hung Nguyen, urged the government to strengthen laws after yet another public display of violence.
'They just pulled out from their backpack a long knife, like a machete, and they just started fighting,' he said.
No one has been charged over the incident so far, and no injuries were reported.
Youth crime in the state has been thrust back into the spotlight in recent weeks after a string of high-profile incidents.
Victoria's ban on machete sales was introduced on May 28, three days after a wild brawl at Northlands Shopping Centre during which teens used machetes.
The state is due to outlaw possession of the knives in September, becoming the first state in Australia to do so.
In announcing the ban on sales, Premier Jacinta Allan said 'we must never let places we meet become places we fear'.
'I hate these knives, and I will keep introducing as many laws as it takes to get them off our streets, out of our shops and out of our lives,' she said.
Police Minister Anthony Carbines said the government's move had followed previous efforts in introducing 'Australia's toughest bail laws'.
He said they were also 'toughening bail for knife crimes and expanding random knife search powers'.
'The community shouldn't have to deal with these weapons in their shopping centres. Neither should our police.'
Victoria Police announced on Friday morning, hours before the Caroline Springs brawl, that it was on track to seize a record number of knives in 2025.
Officers confiscated 6,876 edged weapons in 2025 – about 44 per day – putting it on track to beat 2024's haul of 14,805.
Police were also targeting youth gang members as part of proactive operations, with Forest Hill Superintendent Matt Baynes saying officers worked quickly to identify those involved in public violence.
'While recent changes to machete laws will help choke the supply and double the penalties for possessing these weapons, the community should be assured police continue to relentlessly remove knives from the hands of criminals.'
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