Three boys aged 12, 13 and 15 and two 14-year-old girls were on Sunday charged with a series of assault-related offences after a man was seriously injured in Melbourne's west.
Police allege the group tried to steal items from a store in Sunshine on Saturday afternoon before a street scuffle ensued with an employee.
The alleged victim, who was working nearby, came to the shopkeeper's aid before he was allegedly attacked by the group and seriously injured.
The 60-year-old was taken to hospital in a critical condition.
Four teenagers were arrested nearby, with the 12-year-old later arrested at his home.
All five youths have been charged with affray, violent disorder, intentionally causing injury and intentionally causing serious injury.
They are expected to appear in court later on Sunday, when police will apply to keep them in custody.
The attack comes days after freshly minted Victorian Premier Ben Carroll unveiled new retail worker protection laws.
The laws will grant courts the power to restrict access to workplaces for people who assault, intimidate or stalk workers.
Mr Carroll called for the teenagers to face adult time for their alleged crimes.
"This was terrible what occurred to this gentleman in a retail shop," he told reporters.
"There's no tolerance for this sort of behaviour, it's awful.
"(It has) lifetime consequences for (the victim), but also for the offenders. There's going to be lifetime consequences for you, because your life is going to change when you face jail time."
Violent events in Victorian shop settings were up 10.5 per cent so far in 2026, according to data from retail crime intelligence platform Auror.
Those figures follow a 29 per cent spike in retail violence in 2025.
More than 7700 cases of crimes against individuals, including assault and harassment, were recorded in Victorian retail settings in 2025, according to the Crime Statistics Agency.
Opposition Leader Jess Wilson accused Mr Carroll of voting against a Liberal workplace protection bill that would have taken immediate effect, and instead favouring an equivalent Labor bill.
"Labor's scheme won't come into effect until the middle of next year," she said.
"Ben Carroll and Labor are not serious about cleaning up the crime crisis in this state."
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