This article first published by New Idea.
Westfield axe attack latest: ‘She was covered in blood’
Witnesses have described scenes of horror following a horrific axe attack at a major suburban Westfield shopping mall.
Westfield Fountain Gate – made famous by the TV series Kath & Kim - was turned into a scene from a nightmare this morning, after a man allegedly chased down and repeatedly struck a woman with an axe.
‘It seems as though a guy chased a woman into a nail store, at the lower levels of Fountain Gate,’ a witness calling himself Trevor told radio station 3AW.
‘I had just come down the escalators a moment after it, so there was a bit of pandemonium there until security and the other police got on site.
‘I only saw the lady, she was lying on the floor of the nail salon, there was security and there was police. Police were apprehending the male, who they had chased into the store.
‘She was on the floor and there was a bit of blood.’
The woman – who has so badly injured she was unable to speak – was rushed to hospital.
Hasan Zaman, owner of The Beauty and Brow Parlour, has confirmed the woman, believed to be in her 30s, was a store employee.
‘I don’t know what he was thinking, a normal person cannot do this ... you can’t beat people in this country,’ he told the Herald Sun.
The victim is reportedly in a serious but stable condition.
While a section of The Beauty and Brow Parlour has been cordoned off, the rest of the mall remains open.
A mall spokesperson said, ‘Westfield is working with police. Police were at the scene very quickly and have cordoned off an area. I'll leave it to them to comment further on this incident.’