A 16-year-old boy has been hospitalised after being stabbed during a brawl at a shopping centre in Melbourne’s western suburbs.

Police were called to Highpoint Shopping Centre in Maribyrnong just after 7pm yesterday when the fight broke out between a group of young people near the cinema and dining outlets.

Two other teenagers suffered non-threatening injuries, though were not taken to hospital. The rest of the group fled before police arrival. The police said they found a knife at the scene, but no arrests have been made yet.

A Highpoint spokesperson said the centre’s security team responded immediately and assisted police by providing CCTV footage of the fight.

“The safety of our customers, retailers and staff remains our number one priority,” they said.

The incident has also happened one week after police arrested a 17-year-old boy at Highpoint for carrying a machete.

In data provided to the ABC this morning, police intelligence has indicated that the number of stabbings involving child offenders has increased to 168 occurrences, up from 111 last year. Over a quarter of these events were by children under the age of 18.

The government has confirmed that at least 18,000 weapons had been surrendered during the machete amnesty, along with knives that have been seized by police. Police Minister Anthony Carbines said the figures were proof that current laws were working.

“That makes the community safer, but there’s a lot more work still to do,” he said.

Detectives from Taskforce Alliance, which targets violent youth gangs, have taken over the investigation into last night’s fight.

Police urge anyone with information or footage to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or at crimestoppersvic.com.au.

Photo: By animal alex is available HERE and is used under a Creative Commons Licence. This image has been cropped.