2 days ago
Six teens charged for wielding machetes that sparked lockdown at Melbourne's Caroline Springs Square
Six teenagers have been charged after allegedly running through a Victorian shopping centre armed with machetes.
Caroline Springs Square Shopping Centre in Melbourne was placed into lockdown about 6.40pm on June 6, after a group of teens were spotted arguing while carrying the weapons.
The lockdown lasted between 25 and 30 minutes, with the group fleeing before police arrived.
Shop owners scrambled to escape after spotting the weapons, but no one was injured.
Following multiple search warrants across the Brimbank area, police seized six machetes and arrested six teenage boys.
The boys, all from the Brimbank area, include five 15-year-olds and one 17-year-old.
The 17-year-old was charged with possessing a controlled weapon without excuse and was bailed to appear before a children's court at a later date.
Two of the 15-year-olds were charged with affray and were also bailed to appear in court.
Another 15-year-old was charged with possessing a controlled weapon without excuse and was bailed.
The remaining two 15-year-olds were charged with affray and were both remanded to appear before a children's court.
In the aftermath of the incident, more than 1700 Caroline Springs residents signed a petition urging the local police station be upgraded to a 24/7 operational facility.
The petition starter, who asked to be identified only as Sean, said the current police response is 'too slow' to deal with ongoing youth crime in the area.
'At the moment, any calls to police are routed through to patrolling officers who are hopefully nearby,' Sean told
'It leads to delays if they are on other duties or emergencies.
'Many police I've spoken to also expressed their wish to have the station open 24/7, 365 days a year.'
Sean — who once experienced a home invasion by a youth offender armed with a machete — said he and his wife were only able to control the situation because a Police Dog Squad happened to be just seven minutes away.
'Fortunately for us, I was able to subdue the offender until police arrived,' he said.
'Even they [the specialised police unit] admitted we were 'lucky they just happened to be in the area'.
'If they weren't, it could have been a 20- to 25-minute wait for police to arrive.'
Sean said Caroline Springs is 'a hustling and bustling hub that requires a more consistent and responsive police presence', and believes many recent incidents could have been prevented or dealt with more quickly.
The machete incident came less than two weeks after another shopping centre was placed into lockdown.
Just one day earlier, .
enacting restrictions on the sale of the weapon from May 28.
However, the ban on possession will not take effect until September 1.
Those caught with a prohibited weapon in Victoria can face up to two years in prison or a fine of more than $47,000.
