Terrifying moment customers fear machete attacker is among them after a Kmart was locked down as brawl erupted in a Melbourne shopping centre

By ASHLEY NICKEL and NICK WILSON FOR DAILY MAIL AUSTRALIA

Published: 02:02 BST, 8 June 2025 | Updated: 02:24 BST, 8 June 2025

Terrifying footage captured the moment customers feared they had been locked in a Kmart with one of the attackers involved in the machete brawl at a Melbourne shopping centre. 

A group of five to six teenage boys, armed with machetes, were seen fighting in Caroline Springs Shopping Centre, in Melbourne’s west, about 6.40pm on Friday.

A Victoria Police spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia the boys had fled by the time officers arrived at the scene.

CCTV footage  showed shoppers and retailers as they scrambled to avoid the armed group.

Ari was shopping in Kmart when the attack unfolded.

‘We’re going into lockdown because someone has a machete,’ she told viewers as other customers screamed in the background.

Several customers were confused as Kmart locked its doors, fearing one of the machete-wielders was inside the store.

An employee explained to Ari the attack had happened ’10, 20 minutes ago’ and Kmart had been cleared but ‘security wants the whole shopping centre shut down’.

A group of five to six teenage boys were allegedly armed with machetes (one pictured) at Caroline Springs Shopping Centre on Friday

Ari (pictured) was shopping in Kmart when the boys were spotted inside the centre

Kmart workers urged customers to stay inside the locked store but some still chose to duck under the roller shutter. 

Daily Mail Australia has contacted Kmart for further comment. 

Several other shoppers affected by the lockdown shared news of the incident as it unfolded. 

‘Another machete attack while I was getting my noodle on,’ one wrote on a video filmed inside the shopping centre as the lockdown announcement played over the loudspeakers.

While no injuries were reported, the incident called into question the effectiveness of a ban on the sale of machetes by the Victorian government. 

The ban followed a clash between suspected rival youth gangs alleged to have been carrying the weapons at Northland shopping centre in Preston on May 25. 

Footage from inside the popular mall depicted shoppers running for cover as a group of seven males, aged between 15 and 21, squared-off.  

The following day Premier Jacinta Allan announced her government would bring forward the machete ban until a permanent ban takes effect on September 1.

The armed group (one pictured) fled the scene before police arrived

The popular Melbourne shopping centre was plunged into lockdown following reports of a group of boys carrying machetes

‘In Victoria, community safety comes first. We must never let places we meet become places we fear,’ Ms Allan said last Monday. 

‘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.’

Investigations into the Caroline Springs incident remain ongoing.

Anyone who witnessed the matter, has video footage or any other information that could assist police is urged to contact Crime Stoppers.

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Terrifying moment customers fear machete attacker is among them after a Kmart was locked down as brawl erupted in a Melbourne shopping centre

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