Four teenagers have been arrested in Melbourne's west after a serious assault on a retail worker left the man in critical condition. Investigators reported that two boys, aged 13 and 15, and two girls, aged 14 and 15, entered a shop on Hampshire Road in Sunshine just after 2pm on Saturday, August 1st, 2026, and stole items. When two staff members confronted the youths, a physical altercation ensued, resulting in serious injuries to a 60-year-old male staff member.

All four teenagers have since been taken into custody and are expected to be interviewed by detectives. This incident comes shortly after Victorian Premier Ben Carroll pledged to enhance protections for retail workers, stating, "We are putting workers front and centre."

The Victorian government had introduced laws last year increasing penalties for assaulting or threatening hospitality and retail workers to a maximum of five years imprisonment. Premier Carroll also announced the introduction of workplace protection orders, allowing businesses to ban aggressive customers from their premises.

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