Horror: Man attacked with axe in front of shopping center

A man reportedly suffered facial injuries after being attacked with a metal object outside a local shopping mall.

The incident occurred at around 3.30pm on Thursday at the Tweed City Centre on Minjungbal Drive in northern New South Wales.

A NSW Ambulance spokesman told the Gold Coast Bulletin that the 25-year-old man was taken to Gold Coast University Hospital in a stable condition.

Several ambulances and police crews were on site.

According to police sources, a construction tool was used in the incident; witnesses described the metal device as some kind of axe or machete.

The suspected weapon was seized by police for forensic examination.

Witnesses told Channel Nine that the attacker entered a shop in the centre and shouted at the man for cigarettes before launching the attack and fleeing the scene.

A police spokesman said officers came to the scene “due to reports of an altercation.”

Officers were informed that several people had been involved in an altercation.

The police have launched a manhunt for the attacker.

Anyone with information or footage of the incident is asked to contact police.

Shoppers who witnessed the incident expressed their shock and horror on social media, with one writing: “There was blood everywhere.”

“Wow, just saw the guy…blood everywhere. Wondering what happened. Pretty creepy stuff,” wrote Jacqueline Garbett.

Allison Sultana said her son’s partner attempted to give first aid to the injured man and said the attack occurred outside the Woolworths store.

As news of the attack spread, shoppers “began streaming out of the center,” wrote Sara Georgi, who also said police were “quick” on the scene.

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