- Westfield locked down
- Armed person spotted in area
A busy Westfield shopping centre has been plunged into lockdown following reports of an armed offender in the vicinity.
Westfield Marion in Adelaide, South Australia, was evacuated after an armed offender was spotted in the David Jones store.
Video circulating on social media shows heavily armed police officers storming into the centre.
A photo from the scene shows a billboard warning: ‘Armed Offender: Escape, Hide, Tell’.
A Westfield has been plunged into lockdown following reports of a armed person in the area
Police has asked the public to stay away from the area.
‘Police are aware of an incident occurring at Westfield Marion Shopping Centre,’ a spokesman said.
‘Numerous police patrols are in attendance.
‘At this point in time, police advise the public to stay away from the area.’
People who were inside the mall at the time of the evacuation posted about the experience online.
Some shoppers wrote that they were locked inside stores for their own safety.
One claimed the incident had unfolded on the second floor of the store and saw a security guard run up the escalator from level one.
‘The staff were great but people were certainly panicked and running to all the exits,’ they said.
Movies being shown in a nearby cinema were immediately stopped and the patrons evacuated
One shopper claimed the incident had unfolded on the second floor of the store and saw a security guard run up the escalator from level one
Movies being shown in a nearby cinema were immediately stopped and the patrons evacuated.
The shopping centre is owned by Scentre Group, same company that runs Westfield Bondi, the scene of a horrific mass murder event in April.
The company has been contacted for a response to the unfolding incident.
Westfield Marion is a major shopping hub in the city’s southern suburbs, about 12km from the CBD.
It is one of South Australia’s largest malls and it contains more than 340 stores.
More to come.
