Terrifying baseball bat brawl breaks out at Woolies checkout

Woolworths is urging the Victorian government to introduce workplace protection orders after a baseball bat fight inside one of its supermarkets sent shoppers scrambling for safety.

The violent confrontation unfolded at the Kyabram store, with footage showing two men fighting near the checkouts as terrified customers tried to escape.

One man can be seen striking the other with a baseball bat while a woman and child climb over the checkout area to get away. A boy also runs from the scene as other shoppers stand back.

Police laid charges over the incident and allege the two men are known to each other. Both were bailed to appear in the Magistrates’ Court.

Eleven days earlier, one of the men had been arrested at the same supermarket after another incident.

Local business owner Miles Gould said he tried to subdue the man before police arrived.

“Threatening, scary, erratic, very very drug affected,” he told A Current Affair.

“He was tasered multiple times, upwards of five, and he was pepper sprayed”.

Gould said residents were frustrated by repeated incidents in the town and did not blame police.

“If the bail laws were what they were meant to be and strong, he wouldn’t be out in the community as often as he is,” he said.

Both men were banned from the Woolworths store after the incident, but one allegedly returned the following morning.

Woolworths brought in extra security guards and said the case showed the limits of banning notices.

“This is a really clear example of where banning notices are not effective,” Woolworths head of violence prevention Sarah Faorlin said.

“We do see repeat behaviour occur in our stores and this is where workplace protection orders are a really critical piece of legislation to prevent that future harm.”

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Woolworths wants the Victorian government to introduce the orders as a matter of urgency, allowing courts to prevent repeat offenders from entering certain workplaces.

Australian Retail Council representative Fleur Brown said Victoria had become the country’s worst jurisdiction for retail crime.

“We’ve also seen that 60 per cent of retail crime offences are caused by 10 per cent of repeat offenders,” she said.

“That’s why we’re urging the government to act faster on worker protection orders, where they can remove those repeat offenders from those locations.”

Statement from the Victorian government

Every Victorian deserves to be safe at work and the rise in abuse and violence against workers is unacceptable.

We passed laws that strengthen protections for workers, and we’ll continue that work with Workplace Protection Orders.

We’re continuing to work with unions, industry, and workers to ensure these orders are as strong and easy to use as possible.

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