A major supermarket battle in which at least ten people and multiple knives were involved has been captured on shocking video.
Following the violent confrontation, which happened on Tuesday afternoon at a Woolworths store in Darwin, a teenager has been taken into custody.
Witnesses called the brawl a “riot,” and one claimed to have seen a man wielding a machete.
Several people were seen fighting in a video shared on social media, and one of them appeared to leap the counter of a coffee shop before arming themselves with a blade.
They then looked to sprint in the direction of Woolworths.
According to Claire Ross, who described what she observed to ABC Radio Darwin, the mayhem was “frightening.”
“People from the outside were attempting to run inside the drugstore for their own safety; they were really scared for their lives,” Ms. Ross stated as she closed the roller doors [to the adjacent pharmacy].
“I was praying he wouldn’t chuck it at us,” said one of the men holding a red wine bottle as he started throwing it at other individuals.
One of her employees, according to Ms. Ross, was coming back from the trash cans when the brawl started.
A man brandishing a knife approached them at that point.
It was frightening, and a number of people appeared to be in great distress. They were merely terrified and panicked, according to Ms. Ross.
“I just couldn’t believe it, there was a guy with two knives running at me and I thought I was going to die,” the staff member said.
The chaos, according to NT Police Superintendent James O’Brien, was “extremely frightening.”
We’re looking at at least 10 people moving around, and all the video clearly shows that at least two of them may have been carrying knives, Supt. O’Brien said.
The CCTV clearly shows that there was some sort of conflict between two groups of people. And it’s a miracle it didn’t affect the public.
The Wadeye community, where hundreds of residents have been forced to flee because of an uptick in violence, has been connected to the brawl.
Police have already detained one 16-year-old, but they anticipate detaining more suspects as their inquiries continue.
Investigators are reviewing CCTV and video footage, according to Supt. O’Brien.
It is absolutely appalling behaviour, and we do not expect that in the Darwin CBD, let alone anywhere else in the Northern Territory. said Supt. O’Brien.