Families have watched in horror as an ugly brawl broke out between dozens of teens at a popular community event.
The shocking scenes unfolded at Melbourne’s family-friendly Moomba Festival about 9.30pm on Saturday night.
Footage showed terrified children and elderly attendees trying to get out of the way of the escalating violence.
One man using a walking frame was almost knocked over in the middle of the brawl as young children watched on just metres away.
The group were seen kicking and punching several youths curled up helplessly on the ground.
A male filming the violence can be heard laughing.
The group fled before police arrived.
Festivalgoers described the group’s behaviour as ‘horrendous’.
A group of teen were filmed trading blows at Melbourne’s Moomba Festival on Saturday night
The group were seen kicking youths on the ground and punching one another
‘There’s no respect for other people’s safety,’ a man told Seven News.
A woman added: ‘That’s unacceptable. These kids should know better.’
Melbourne Lord Mayor Nick Reece also condemned the incident.
‘We do not tolerate violence of any kind at Moomba,’ Mr Reece said
‘We will continue to work closely with Victoria Police to ensure Moomba remains a safe and enjoyable experience for everyone.’
Police investigations into the brawl continue.
No charges or arrests have yet been laid.
It’s not the first time Moomba attendees have witnessed violent crime with notorious gang Apex blamed for brawls surrounding the event in 2016, 2017 and 2018.
Horrified children watched on metres away from the violence
The teenagers fled the scene before police arrived
The festival also fell on the same weekend of five separate knife attacks in Melbourne in 2019, which resulted in two deaths.
The Moomba Festival began on Thursday and will run through to Monday.
It is one of Australia’s largest free festivals and features carnival rides, dance workshops, live music, children activities and a parade.
The event is held at Alexandra Gardens in Melbourne CBD and will end at 10pm on Monday.
