A teenage girl has been charged after a 14-year-old girl and a security guard were allegedly stabbed at a busy shopping centre.
Officers were called to Pacific Epping, 20km north of Melbourne’s CBD, about 9.20pm on Friday following reports a fight had broken out between three girls.
Police allege a security guard was stabbed in the stomach by one of the three teenagers after he tried to break up the fight.
The 17-year-old girl allegedly chased the other two teenagers and stabbed one of them multiple times before fleeing the scene.
A 14-year-old girl and the 19-year-old security guard were rushed to hospital with serious injuries.
Andrew Drivas, the general manager of Pacific Epping, said the security guard was still in hospital on Saturday.
‘Our focus is on supporting them in their recovery, while assisting Victoria Police with their investigation,’ he said.
‘The safety and wellbeing of all those who work in and visit our centre is our overriding priority.’
Officers were called to Pacific Epping, 20km north of Melbourne’s CBD, about 9.20pm on Friday following reports a fight had broken out between a trio of teenage girls
Detectives obtained a search warrant for a home in the Whittlesea area on Saturday morning and arrested a 17-year-old girl.
She was charged with intentionally causing serious injury, affray, assault with a weapon and unlawful assault.
She will face a children’s court at a later date.
Youth crime in Victoria has skyrocketed to its highest level in 15 years, with some of the state’s repeat youth offenders being bailed up to 67 times.
In 2023, just 20 offenders were allegedly responsible for 309 aggravated burglaries, while 103 repeat offenders carried out at least 3,090 crimes.
