Life-threatening situation at Big W sparks debate on safety

An incident in a department store has now sparked debate whether security personnel should be hired for the safety of shoppers. This came after a shopping centre was in lockdown on Thursday after a crazed man armed with two hammers began attacking innocent bystanders.

Terrified shoppers fled the aisles of the Big W store in Melbourne’s Queen Victoria building when the hammer-welding man yelled abuse and threatened to kill shoppers in the busy store.

The man allegedly injured two people during the violent attack, including one victim, a 43-year-old Chinese national, who was taken to hospital with head injuries.

According to reports, the man either escaped or was released from the psychiatric ward of a Melbourne hospital just hours before the incident.

One terrified witness said the alleged attacker was waving the hammers and threatening to kill people.

“I got pretty scared because I saw people running and screaming,” a woman known as Alofa told Nine News.
“I think they were looking for their kids – and I came out and this man was holding hammers – two hammers on each hand.

“He started assaulting this lady, saying, ”What are you looking at? I’ll come kill you.””
Security guards then made a brave decision to pounce on the man and reprimand him while they waited for police to arrive.

A police spokesperson said the man was arrested and remains in custody where he is assisting police with their enquiries.

Shoppers are saying that safety measures should be taken to prevent it while others think it’s a one off. In some countries, each department store hire their own security personnel in the event that such incidents happen. What do you think, do we need this here too?

Do you think it’s time for department stores to hire some security personnel?