Melbourne machete brawl: Hero shopper tackles knife-wielding man during shopping centre attack

Dramatic footage has captured the moment a brave shopper tackled a machete-wielding man, restraining him in a chokehold during a frightening attack at a shopping centre in Melbourne’s northeast.

Emergency services were called to Northland Shopping Centre in Preston on Sunday, around 2.30pm, following reports of two opposing groups fighting, some armed with knives.

Two boys, aged 15 and 16, have been charged, while another male, 20, was rushed to hospital in a serious but stable condition.

The teenagers were charged with affray, intentionally causing injury, possession of a controlled weapon and using a controlled weapon, a statement from Victoria Police read.

Moments after the brawl broke out, a member of the public heroically pinned one of the men to the ground.

The teen, who was allegedly wielding a machete, was restrained in a chokehold by the shopper until police arrived.

The lockdown triggered chaos at the busy centre, with shoppers screaming and fleeing the area — some bolting for exits, others taking cover in nearby stores as violence erupted.

Superintendent Kelly Lawson confirmed the attack was not random, saying rival gangs had arranged a meeting at the centre’s food court before the fight erupted.

“It is said to have been an act of retaliation,” she said.

Police believe about 10 people were involved, some armed with knives.

There were no firearms involved.

“It was a chaotic scene,” Supt. Lawson added.

“It’s really frightening for members of the public to go through this.”

“For the people here today it would have been horrific, and I really feel for them so we need to keep doing what we can to stop it.”

The centre was locked down during the incident as dozens of police officers responded and shoppers shared updates on social media.

The two boys have been remanded to appear in a children’s court at a later date.

Following the violent brawl, large and dangerous blades will be removed from shop shelves in days in an Australian-first ban.

On Monday, Premier Jacinta Allan announced the laws, which bans the sale of machetes across Victoria, will take effect from noon on May 28.

“In Victoria, community safety comes first. We must never let places we meet become places we fear,” Ms Allan told reporters.

“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.”

The interim sale ban will cover machetes, which are broadly described as a cutting edge knife with a blade of more than 20 centimetres.

The purpose of the interim sale ban is to stop the supply of the items, before a possession ban comes into effect on September 1.

There will be no exemptions to allow the sale of machetes during the interim sales ban. It is a total ban on sales.

Retailers are advised to store excess stock in a safe location until the disposal, amnesty and exemption schemes for banned machetes starts alongside the prohibition coming into force in September.

The laws were rushed initially through parliament after Crime Statistics Agency figures showed there were 24,550 offences committed by children aged 10 to 17 in Victoria in 2024, the highest number since electronic records started being collected in 1993.

- With AAP