Scared shoppers hid inside changerooms in a shopping centre south of Perth on Friday afternoon after a juvenile was allegedly armed with a fake gun.
Two people are in custody after police received reports of a group of young people creating a disturbance at Mandurah Forum — one of whom had the fake weapon — about 1.30pm on Friday.
Mandurah mother, Pania Ripahou, was forced to hide inside a changeroom with her seven-month-old baby when a teen brandished a fake gun outside of Cotton On.
“There were two girls who walked into Cotton On and they sprinted out. About 10 other teenagers were running in two different directions,” she said.
“The manager of Cotton On told another staff member to call the police and started locking down the shop. She saw someone pull out a gun out of their pocket.”
Ms Ripahou said the manager started to lock down the store, and many customers were hiding in fear in the shop’s changerooms.
“We were scared. There were a lot of mums in the shop and he was right at the front door,” she said.
“Security started running through the shop and police arrived and were chasing them too.”
Eventually, the shoppers were allowed to leave the store as police swarmed the shopping centre and surrounding area to search for the perpetrators.
Nearby stores, including Sportsgirl and Foot Locker, closed during the ordeal, and Cotton On closed early after the incident.
One witness, who works at a nearby store, said the incident was “handled really poorly”.
“By the time everyone found out information it was really late,” she said.
“The only reason we knew is because there’s a group chat with the centre (management).”
She said it wasn’t until afterwards that she realised the severity of the incident.
“I don’t think I felt unsafe, I felt confused. It’s when I digested it (afterwards) that I realised how serious it was,” she said.
“The only time we were spoken to was when security came after and asked if we were going to re-open.
“I hope this has woken up the centre I think everyone is learning there’s a lack of vigilance. There needs to be some protocols put in place.”
Vicinity Centres, which owns Mandurah Forum, declined to comment due to the ongoing investigation.
A WA Police spokesman confirmed two people were in custody and that police were speaking to several others about the incident.
One of those arrested was in possession of the imitation firearm, police said, which has been seized.
