An 18-year-old boy is recovering in hospital after an alleged stabbing in an underground carpark at Melbourne’s Pacific Werribee Shopping Centre on Thursday afternoon.
Police believe the teenager was involved in a physical altercation with another boy around 4pm. The 18-year-old was taken to hospital with serious injuries, and shoppers were placed in lockdown during the incident.
One shopper described it on social media as “one of the most traumatic things” they had ever experienced, adding that it was hard to believe it happened in such a setting.
A 16-year-old boy was arrested nearby and charged with recklessly causing serious injury, possessing a drug of dependence, and possessing a controlled weapon.
The incident occurred just hours before the state parliament passed what they called the “toughest bail laws” in the country, alongside a state-wide ban on machetes, effective 1st of September.
It was also revealed that crimes committed by young people across Victoria had reached their highest level in three decades.
The 16-year-old has been remanded to appear in children’s court at a later date.
