Westfield Marion: Two teenagers arrested over a brawl that sent a major shopping centre into lockdown

Two teenagers have been arrested after an altercation between two groups at a food court caused a major Adelaide shopping center to go into lockdown.

The incident happened just before 3pm on Sunday at the Westfield Marion Center in Adelaide and led to widespread reports of an armed person inside.

Two boys, aged 15 and 16, have been arrested and each charged with assault, affray and aggravated robbery, SA Police said in a statement on Monday.

“Police have seized two expandable batons,” police said.

“The two teenagers will appear in the Adelaide Youth Court later today. The investigation continues to identify outstanding suspects.”

Terrified families were among those caught up in the chaos at Westfield Marion

Assistant Commissioner Scott Duval said police had received reports of two groups fighting in the food court, with two boys armed with fold-out batons.

“(One group) approached another group of boys and an altercation ensued,” he told reporters at the scene on Sunday.

“The deployable batons have been seen and at this stage we cannot rule out any other weapons but we have reports that a knife may be involved.”

Mr Duval said three boys chased another group of teenagers through the center and entered the David Jones store.

“That was the first part of our focus where we turned our specialist attention, starting with clearing the center to ensure the safety of all people could be assured,” he said.

‘We have now reached the point where we can safely clear the center with specialized police and allow people who were still sheltered there to leave.’

Mr Duval said the CCTV footage clearly showed it was not a random attack.

“It appears the boys know each other, but we are clearly in the early days of investigating the incident,” Duval said.

A 77-year-old woman suffered a shoulder injury as she fled the center and another person in their 30s suffered injuries to their knee, the South Australia Ambulance Service said.

One of the patients was taken to Flinders Medical Center for treatment and paramedics remained at the shopping center, a spokesperson said.

Heavily armed police secured the Adelaide shopping center by 5pm and all remaining customers were allowed to leave

Shoppers who rushed into stores for safety shared images of the incident as it happened

A young woman who was in the theater when the commotion began told ABC News how it unfolded.

“We were in the movie theater and all we heard was a noise that said ’emergency’… and no one really knew what it was — if it was a phone or something,” she said.

‘Someone left the cinema and suddenly everyone came running in, just sprinting in, shouting ‘run, run’.

“Then we got up and started sprinting towards the emergency exit.”

Large digital screens in the center warned the public of an armed perpetrator in the complex.

Social media footage from shoppers showed armed officers rushing into the center as dozens of people tried to run to safety.

The lockdown comes less than three months after a man armed with a 30cm knife attacked shoppers at Westfield Bondi Junction in Sydney’s east, killing six people, including a security guard.

Westfield Marion is the largest shopping center in Adelaide and is located in Oaklands Park, approximately 22 minutes south of the CBD.

Anyone with information about the incident is urged to contact Crime Stoppers.

Staff and shoppers leave the mall on Sunday evening after being cooped up inside for two hours