Sydney, May 26 (IANS) Two teenagers have been charged over a brawl that forced a Melbourne shopping centre into lockdown on Sunday afternoon.
Emergency services rushed to the Northland shopping centre, 10 km northeast of central Melbourne, shortly after 2:30 pm on Sunday following reports of a fight between around 10 people, some of whom were armed with machetes, that triggered a lockdown.
Two people were arrested at the scene by police and a 20-year-old male was taken to hospital with serious injuries.
Police in the state of Victoria said on Monday that the people who were arrested, two males aged 15 and 16, have been charged with affray, intentionally causing injury, possessing a controlled weapon and using a controlled weapon.
Premier of Victoria Jacinta Allan on Monday announced that the state government would use extraordinary powers to totally ban the sale of machetes from Wednesday ahead of a legislated ban on machete possession coming into effect on September 1, Xinhua news agency reported. She said that the sale ban would “dry up” the supply of machetes as much as possible before the possession ban comes into effect.
“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,” Allan said in a statement.
Under the possession ban, a three-month amnesty period will begin in September allowing people to safely dispose of the knives without committing a crime.
Anyone caught in possession of a machete after September 1, except for those granted an exemption from the ban for allowed purposes such as agriculture, will face up to two years’ imprisonment.
Victoria Police Superintendent Kelly Lawson told reporters on Sunday night that the shopping centre fight broke out after members of two “rival gangs” met up.
A police statement on Monday said that two other males, one with injuries, have since presented to hospital.
–IANS
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