South Australia Police have revealed a “fight between youths” was responsible for the lockdown at Westfield Marion Shopping Centre, south Adelaide, that has left at least two people injured and scores of shoppers evacuated.
At a press conference on Sunday evening, SA Police Assistant Commissioner Scott Duval revealed a group of three boys, believed to be under the age of 18, sparked the lockdown when they allegedly started a fight in the centre’s food court.
“I have looked at the CCTV. It involves three youths and I will call them boys under 18 years, of Caucasian appearance,” he said.
“They approached another group of boys and an altercation occurred. The expandable batons are seen and at this stage we cannot discount any other weapons, but we have reports that a knife may be involved.
“These three boys chased the other boys through the centre and through the CCTV we were able to see they entered the David Jones store, and that was the first part of our focus of where we put our specialist attention, to start clearing the centre to ensure the safety of all people could be ensured.”
In a statement, SA Police added that there was no ongoing threat to community safety.
According to SA Ambulance, two people have been confirmed injured so far, although authorities stressed both were hurt during the evacuation and not as a result of the alleged altercation.
A woman in her 70s has a shoulder injury, while a person in their 30s had an injury to their knee.
Authorities believe the incident was not a random attack, with CCTV footage suggesting the three boys were targeting another group of youths who they proceeded to chase through the centre into David Jones.
“It does not appear that the three boys were intending on targeting anyone else in the centre,” Assistant Commissioner Duval said.
Police have so far yet to locate either group, but the Assistant Commissioner expressed confidence they would be found.
Earlier, authorities had been urging south Adelaide residents to avoid the shopping centre, with reports an armed offender was on the loose.
In a statement, authorities said “numerous police patrols” were on the scene responding to the incident at the shopping centre at around 3:30pm.
Shoppers have been evacuated and a lockdown imposed, with police believed to be hunting an armed offender.
Footage posted to Twitter, now X, shows heavily armed officers, some in what appears to be riot gear, approaching the shopping centre.
Shoppers evacuated from the centre described chaotic scenes, with “people running everywhere” to flee.
Several people suggested an armed offender had made their way inside the centre’s David Jones, with one witness telling the Adelaide Advertiser she had seen a security guard running up an escalator to pursue them.
Other witnesses said there had been a group of up to five people inside David Jones, one allegedly armed with a large knife.
It is understood that while many shoppers have been successfully evacuated, a large number remain inside the centre barricaded in place.
SA Police are currently working to safely clear everyone who remained inside the centre.