Fires, injuries as rogue fireworks incidents explode during Melbourne’s NYE celebrations
Rogue fireworks caused chaos during New Year’s Eve celebrations and machete violence erupted on a famous dining strip, as hundreds of police patrolled the streets during a night of relative civility in Melbourne.
The Universal Restaurant in Lygon Street, Carlton, was cordoned off by police tape in the early hours of New Year’s Day after panicked revellers called Triple Zero to report a stabbing about 30 minutes before midnight.
Police on New Year’s Day at the scene of the Carlton stabbing. Credit: Justin McManus
A group of up to seven males armed with machetes and knives attacked two men outside a restaurant, stabbing them in the chest.
The 18-year-old NSW man and a 20-year-old man from Heidelberg West in Melbourne’s north-east were taken to the Royal Melbourne Hospital in critical conditions. The attackers fled in vehicles before police arrived about 11.45pm.
Melbourne crime investigation unit detectives are investigating whether the attack was targeted. Both men were in a stable condition as of Thursday afternoon.
Police praised the overall behaviour of the hundreds of thousands of people who gathered in Melbourne’s CBD to ring in the New Year.