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One teenage boy is dead and another is in custody after a food court stabbing in Melbourne’s west.
It is understood a 15-year-old and 16-year-old boy became involved in a verbal altercation in an outdoor area at Woodgrove Shopping Centre in Melton West just before midday.
The altercation became physical before the younger boy allegedly produced a knife and stabbed the older boy multiple times before he left the scene towards High Street.
Police are questioning a 15-year-old Melton West boy after he was arrested by police this evening.
A bystander commenced CPR on the 16-year-old boy but he was pronounced dead at the scene.
Police believe the two boys were known to each other.
It is not known whether the knife used in the stabbing has been recovered.
Detective Senior Sergeant Nigel L’Estrange from Victoria Police said the deceased boy had been dropped off at the shopping centre by his mother earlier that morning.
“His mother is currently with us at the moment,” L’Estrange said.
“As you can imagine, this is an absolutely tragic and senseless act that has occurred here in school holidays in an area where there’s going to be lots of kids attending and a lot of people around.”
Much of the busy shopping centre remained open this afternoon as police established a crime scene around the outdoor dining section.
L’Estrange said the shopping centre would have an increased police presence and additional patrols would be dispatched in the area to assure community safety in the aftermath of the stabbing.
Woodgrove Shopping Centre manager Kylie Robertson said it would work with police to bolster security.
“Our thoughts and condolences are with the victim’s family and all those impacted by today’s events,” Robertson said.
“Additional security personnel have been deployed on site and are continuing work with police to support a heightened level of security across the local area.”
Locals who spoke to 9News said crime in the area was becoming “a regular occurrence”.
“I come down here every day pretty much and I just think it’s disgusting that we have to deal with this on a pretty much weekly basis,” resident Michelle said.
Dimi has called Melton home for 10 years and said the stabbing came as “a shock”.
“If you can’t come to a shopping centre during school holidays with your kids and feel safe, it’s a pretty poor state of affairs,” he said.
“It has become a common occurrence, whether it’s here at the shopping centre, at the train station (over) the past decade it’s escalated more and more.”
The shopping complex found itself at the centre of a wild brawl in April, where teenagers allegedly brandished machetes and an axe during a fight in the same food court.
