Bystanders halt knife-wielding attacker in Melbourne shopping centre

Watergardens shopping center, located in Melbourne’s north, became the scene of chaos when a man allegedly armed with a knife incited fear among shoppers. Bystanders at the busy mall displayed courage by intervening in the terrifying situation on Friday 3rd May.

Following the alarming incident on a Friday afternoon, Victoria Police were able to promptly apprehend the 30-year-old suspect from Sunshine. The man reportedly stole a knife from a grocery store within the Watergardens shopping center in Taylors Lakes and proceeded to assault and threaten a 21-year-old man and a 20-year-old woman inside the premises around 12:50 pm.

Jack Hurmez, a member of the group involved in the citizen’s arrest, recounted, “I disarmed him, and then my cousin restrained him.” With assistance from fellow shoppers, law enforcement swiftly detained the individual.

The ensuing events forced Watergardens Shopping Centre into lockdown. This incident adds to the growing concern over knife-related crimes across Australia, prompting calls for stricter legislation. Incidents like the recent Bondi Junction stabbing, which resulted in six fatalities at the hands of a perpetrator wielding a large knife, remain fresh in people’s memories.

In another alarming event, six men engaged in a violent altercation at Highpoint Shopping Centre, two of them brandishing machetes. An 18-year-old from St Albans sustained a suspected stab wound to his arm and was hospitalised as a result.

Similarly, a disturbing brawl erupted at Melton’s Woodgrove shopping complex the previous week, involving men armed with machetes and axes, causing panic among shoppers. A mother who witnessed the chaos recounted grabbing her five-year-old child and fleeing the scene. She expressed her disgust at having to explain to her young child why they were fleeing the center, hoping that such incidents would cease following the Bondi stabbing tragedy.

These incidents are happening more and more, and the police need to have tougher penalties to discourage these criminals for repeat offending.

Sen Mack