Police have charged a 16-year-old boy after an alleged altercation between two people, one of whom was armed with knives, which plunged Carousel Shopping Centre into lockdown.
WA Police descended on the Cannington shopping centre in Perth’s south-east about 3.30pm on Friday after receiving multiple reports of an incident unfolding between several males.
Westfield Carousel in Cannington.Credit: Rebecca Peppiatt
Authorities now claim two groups of people were in the shopping centre when one person from each group, one aged 16 and the other 20, allegedly became involved in a physical altercation.
It will be alleged the 20-year-old managed to wrestle the knife from the juvenile, who then obtained a second knife during the altercation.
The Rivervale teenager has been charged with being armed in a way that may cause fear and stealing and has been remanded in custody.
He is due to appear before the Perth Children’s Court on Sunday.
The 20-year-old was taken to hospital after sustaining an injury to his face.
Both knives were seized with the help of an off-duty police officer.
It is not yet clear whether the pair were known to each other.
In a press conference late on Friday, Inspector Geoff DeSanges pleaded for calm and insisted there was no ongoing threat to the public, despite one of the men still being at large.
But police confirmed that manhunt was over on Saturday morning, with the outstanding person taken into custody.
News of the incident prompted security guards to usher shoppers into individual stores, with videos circulating on social media showing shoppers locked down in Kmart.
On Saturday, a spokesperson from Westfield Carousel’s owner Scentre Group stressed the safety of its customers, business partners and people was its highest priority and the local team acted swiftly to escalate the incident to police.
“Westfield Carousel is open and we look forward to seeing our customers and community today,” the spokesperson said.
“We are supportive and working with governments around Australia and New Zealand on plans to improve community safety including the important issue of knife reform.”
DeSanges conceded the level of community concern was understandable given the stabbings at Westfield Bondi Junction Shopping Centre in April, which claimed the lives of six people.