Hill said when police arrived, some of the teenagers turned on officers, pelting them with bottles of water, forcing police to use OC spray to quell what he described as “riotous behaviour”. Video shows an officer slamming at least one teenager to the ground.
A 15-year-old boy, from the Greater Dandenong area, was arrested but has since been released pending further inquiries.
Police have an increased presence around Mordialloc Beach and surrounding areas on Thursday in response to Wednesday afternoon’s incident in which youths confronted police, shouting, shoving, and throwing bottles. Credit: Joe Armao
A police spokeswoman said three other people were spoken to at the scene and released. No injuries were reported.
Hill vowed police would not stop until they had found every teenager involved in the incident.
“Mark my words – each and every child offender that was observed recorded on CCTV, recorded on social media, or our body-worn camera will be spoken to by Victoria Police.”
“It’s better that you proactively contact police, rather than waiting for us to knock on your door in about two or three weeks’ time, if not earlier,” he said.
Young people at Mordialloc Beach on Thursday.Credit: Joe Armao
He said initial investigations suggested the young people were from the local area, including surrounding suburbs such as Bentleigh and Black Rock, and that officers had to quickly deploy riot and water police as well as the air wing.
“Quite frankly, we’ve got better things to do than deploy to 150 youth causing mayhem on the beach,” he said.
Loading
Michael Donovan, state secretary of the union for retail workers, said no worker should ever fear for their safety while doing their job.
“What our members experienced at Woolworths Mordialloc yesterday was very distressing and completely unacceptable. The SDA condemns this behaviour in the strongest terms and stands with every worker affected.”
A day later, a separate fight broke out at the St Kilda pier.
Police said they were called to the pier at 1pm on Thursday after reports a man had been assaulted by “at least two other males”.
A video on social media shows a man in a pink polo shirt and long pants clutching his mouth and being followed by a swarm of excited teenagers. As the man breaks into a run, the group chase him down, and he is allegedly assaulted.
“There were a number of bystanders in the area watching the alleged assault. The offenders left before police arrival,” police said. “The investigation is ongoing.”
A police car at St Kilda Pier shortly after the alleged assault on Thursday afternoon.Credit: Gemma Grant
Marc, who didn’t want to give his last name, described the St Kilda Pier incident as “a bee swarm” and said it wasn’t long before he heard police sirens in the distance.
Marc said he saw a man being chased down the pier before the altercation began. He estimated that around 150 people were involved.
“They were all on their phones filming and taking photos … it will be on social media soon,” he said.
It is not yet clear what triggered the alleged assault.
Police said extra officers would be patrolling Mordialloc and the surrounding area over coming days.
Despite the social media ban coming into effect last week, teens on social media apps such as TikTok shared videos of the Mordialloc incident, boasting about the number of police called to respond to the chaos.
Police said they will increase their presence in the area over coming days.Credit: Joe Armao
In comments on the videos, many young people are referring to each other as “legends” or claiming to have sparked the riot.
Images also show spoiled produce and items strewn along the ground in the supermarket’s aisles, liquid poured on the floor near registers and teens walking around with other items taken from shelves.
Melburnians – most of them teenagers – flocked to Mordialloc Beach on Thursday, the hottest day of this summer so far.
Many of them had seen the videos that were circulating on social media after Wednesday’s events.
Friends Bella and Allegra, who live close to Mordialloc Beach and visit often, said they’d never seen anything like it.
“It’s just really random. And I just don’t really understand,” Allegra said.
“I feel fine to be here. Obviously, it happened yesterday, but I don’t really care,” she said.
Parsa, Imogen and Theo – who all recently finished year 11 – travelled more than an hour and a half by bus to visit the beach.
Theo said he’s noticed more police patrolling the beach and the surrounding area today.
“[The video] was pretty bad … but everything’s settled down now,” he said.
Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
Get breaking news alerts for major headlines and key updates straight to your inbox. Sign up here.
