Trio flee armed gang

THREE young men were forced to flee a ‘gang’ of masked men armed with baseball bats on the weekend in a shocking confrontation in the carpark of one of the Gold Coast’s busiest shopping centres.

Police were called to Harbour Town Shopping Centre, on the corner of Brisbane Rd and Oxley Dve at Biggera Waters, about 5.30pm on Saturday after reports a group of men had been chased by armed men wearing masks during an altercation in the carpark.

Police said a white sedan containing three men “aged in their 20s” was about to leave the centre when the occupants realised the vehicle’s tyres had been slashed.

While the group waited for a tow truck to arrive, a second car containing five men wearing masks pulled up alongside them.

Police said the masked men, who were still on the run last night, jumped out of the second car brandishing baseball bats and began striking the first vehicle, smashing in its windows as its occupants fled back into the shopping centre.