Victoria Police said five to six armed males were arguing with each other inside CS Square in Caroline Springs about 6:40pm on Friday.

The shopping centre was placed under lockdown until police arrived.

The group fled the scene and remains on the run. No injuries were reported. 

Police are continuing to investigate and urge witnesses or anyone with video to contact Crime Stoppers.

Less than two weeks prior, an alleged preplanned confrontation between opposing gangs, both wielding machetes, led to the lockdown of Northland Shopping Centre in Preston on May 25.

Footage from inside the centre depicted chaotic scenes as shoppers screamed and ran.

Seven males, aged between 15 and 21, have been charged over the incident and remain before the courts.

Following this incident, Premier Jacinta Allan swiftly enacted a pioneering ban on machete sales throughout Victoria, set to remain in place until September 1.

Possessing a machete is still legal until legislation criminalising the sale and possession of machetes comes into effect after the ban expires.

Anyone caught with a machete will face a penalty of a fine of more than $47,000 and two years’ imprisonment.

“In Victoria, community safety comes first. We must never let places we meet become places we fear,” Allan said.

“I hate these knives, and I will keep introducing as many laws as it takes to get them off our streets, out of our shops and out of our lives.”