A teenage boy has been charged after an alleged knifepoint robbery plunged a busy shopping centre in Perth’s northwest into chaos.
Specialist police swarmed on Karrinyup Shopping Centre shortly before 4pm on Saturday after reports a person was armed with a knife.
Police will allege in court a teenage boy entered a Myer store within the complex before taking a pair of headphones.
When confronted by staff, the 15-year-old allegedly produced a knife.
He was apprehended a short time later at a nearby bus stop.
The incident sparked chaos among weekend shoppers after a “code brown” was reportedly issued.
The emergency alert is the same used for mass casualty events and disasters.
One shopper described to 7News hearing people yelling and becoming panicked.
“Everything was just normal until we heard a female voice yelling out something along the lines of ‘help’,” she said.
“Then it was a scream of security … and then we heard her say ‘he’s got a knife’.
“Of course, shades of the last few weeks just ran through my heart, and I was absolutely scared as anything.”
The incident comes only weeks after a horrifying knife attack at Bondi Junction Westfield left six people dead.