Police were called to a shopping centre on Blackburn Road to reports a woman had been stabbed about 7.50am, with the woman attacked inside the centre while on her way to work. The 25-year-old Mount Waverly woman was taken to hospital in a serious but stable condition.
A passerby assisted the female and contacted Triple Zero, though the male fled the area but was arrested a short time later at a medical centre in Clayton. The 16-year-old boy, from the Stonnington area, remains in custody and will be interviewed by police.
The incident marks another violent attack at a shopping precinct in Melbourne's southeast, occurring against a backdrop of escalating public safety concerns across the state's retail spaces. Victoria Police is on track to remove a record number of illegal blades, machetes, and zombie knives from the community this year, with an average of 44 taken off the streets every day and over 7,500 edged weapons seized so far.
Child crime remains at the highest levels since electronic records commenced in 1993, with children accounting for just 13.1 per cent of all offenders processed yet being overrepresented in serious and violent crimes such as robberies and aggravated burglaries.
Victoria Police has responded to mounting community concerns by intensifying operations at shopping centres. As part of Operation Pulse, police and public safety officers are currently deployed to four of Melbourne's biggest shopping centres each day. The operation follows several high-profile stabbing incidents that have unsettled shoppers and raised questions about safety in what should be everyday spaces.
The randomness of the Clayton attack underscores a pattern that has alarmed many Australians. Unlike previous incidents where victims knew their attackers, stranger violence of this kind represents a particular vulnerability for workers and shoppers going about their daily routines. Anyone who witnessed the incident, or has information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or submit a confidential report online.