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Brawl in Marion: Two teenagers arrested and charged over incident in Adelaide shopping centre

Theo

Important points
  • The Westfield Marion Centre in Adelaide was cordoned off on Sunday afternoon following a fight between teenagers.
  • Two boys, aged 15 and 16, were arrested and charged with assault, affray and aggravated robbery.
  • Deputy Commissioner Scott Duval said it was clear from the video footage that the incident was not a random attack.
Two teenagers were arrested after a fight that resulted in an Adelaide shopping centre being cordoned off.
The incident occurred at the Westfield Marion Centre in Adelaide just before 3pm on Sunday and sparked numerous reports of an armed person inside.
The center management triggered an acoustic alarm and an evacuation alarm and the center was sealed off.
While specialized police officers searched for the perpetrators, shoppers sought shelter in stores.

Deputy Commissioner Scott Duval said it was clear from the video footage that the incident was not a random attack.

Two boys, ages 15 and 16, were later arrested and charged with assault, affray and aggravated robbery.
The police also confiscated two extendable batons.
The youths are expected to appear in Adelaide Youth Court on Monday.

A 77-year-old woman suffered a shoulder injury while escaping the centre and another person in his 30s suffered a knee injury, South Australia’s emergency services said.

How the incident unfolded

Duvall said police were called to the scene after 2:52 p.m. when they received reports of a fight in the food court between two groups of teenage boys, some of whom were armed with extendable batons.
“(A group) approached another group of boys and an altercation broke out,” he told reporters at the scene on Sunday.

Duval said three boys chased the other teenagers through the centre and entered the David Jones store.

A shopper talking on the phone walks behind a man in a police uniform.

The police are convinced that the fight between the two groups of teenagers was not a random attack. Source: AAP / Matt Turner

“That was the first part of our focus that we paid special attention to, which was to start clearing the center to ensure the safety of everyone,” he said.

Duval said the police response to such incidents had changed since the attack at Sydney Bondi Junction earlier this year, in which Six people were killed, including a security guard.
“This type of response to these incidents is heavily influenced by incidents like Bondi,” Duval said.

“We have a fantastic relationship with these retailers and the exercises enable us to respond very well.”

A young woman who was in the cinema when the commotion began described the events to ABC News.
“We were in the movies and we kept hearing this noise saying ’emergency’ … and no one really knew what it was – whether it was a phone or something,” she said.
“Someone came out of the cinema and suddenly everyone came running – running towards us and shouting ‘Run, run’.”

“Then we got up and ran towards the emergency exit.”

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