Elderly man suffered lacerations and broken nose in Sylvia Park incident, witness says

The incident took place at Sylvia Park Mall yesterday afternoon. Photo / Alex Burton

A man suffered lacerations to his face and was left in a pool of blood after an incident at Sylvia Park, a witness says.

The man was initially thought to have been attacked at the shopping mall, but several eyewitnesses and police say he was accidentally knocked over during a "disorder" incident yesterday afternoon.

A witness, who declined to be named, said a fight broke out at Sylvia Park's customer service desk between two groups of men.

One of the men fled the scene and was pursued by a larger group of men. The fleeing man knocked over an elderly man who was at the mall with his wife.

One bystander at the scene reported that the elderly man was "bleeding like crazy". Another man said "it was the most amount of blood I have ever seen".

The unnamed witness said the large amount of blood was due to two lacerations on the elderly man's face and a suspected broken nose. He had also been taking blood-thinning medication.

Several bystanders, including registered nurses, attended to the elderly man. The man who knocked him over kept running, the witness said.

Police were called to the mall at around 12.25pm.

The witness claimed that two men who started the initial fight at the customer service desk were apprehended by Sylvia Park security guards and arrested by police. Other men involved in the incident fled the scene.

Police said there were no further updates on the incident today, and would not confirm if any arrests had been made.

In a statement last night, a spokesperson said one man was seriously injured and was taken to hospital.

"During the incident, a member of the public who was not involved was knocked to the ground, sustaining serious injuries.

"Another man, who had been involved in the disorder, sustained minor injuries."

Police inquiries were ongoing.

Any witnesses with information about the incident were asked to call 105 and quote file number 220723/3349.

They could also give information anonymously through Crime Stoppers on 0800 555 111.