A shopping centre full of weekend shoppers has been thrown into chaos after a teenager allegedly ran through with a knife.
It comes two weeks after seven people were killed and 12 more injured during a stabbing attack at Bondi Junction Westfield on April 13.
Police swarmed on Karrinyup Shopping Centre in the north of Perth about 3.45pm on Saturday, following reports a person was armed with a knife, a WA police spokesperson told PerthNow.
“There is no ongoing threat to the community,” the spokesperson said.
A teen allegedly brandished a knife and threatened staff while attempting to steal from the Myer.
He then fled the store, terrifying shoppers who allegedly glimpsed him racing past with a knife in hand.
Police arrested the teen on Karrinyup Road soon after, and a knife has since been located and seized.
A “code brown” alert was reportedly issued, the same alert issued for mass casualty events or disasters.
One shopper told 7NEWS she heard people yelling and became panicked immediately.
“Everything was just normal until we heard a female voice yelling out something along the lines of ‘help’. ‘Help! Stop him, Stop him!’ And then it was a scream of security … and then we heard her say ‘he’s got a knife’,” she said.
“Of course, shades of the last few weeks just ran through my heart, and I was absolutely scared as anything.”
City of Wanneroo councillor Helen Berry shared a post to her Facebook page alerting her constituents to the alleged incident.
“Hope all those shopping in Myers Karrinyup are safe as police within the last hour have swarmed the Karrinyup Shopping Centre after a juvenile allegedly brandished a knife as he attempted to steal from the Myers store,” she said.