A beautician has been savagely wounded by an axe-wielding man believed to be her husband in an attack at a major Melbourne shopping centre that left others sickened and afraid.
The woman, believed to be in her 30s, suffered upper body injuries and was so badly beaten she couldn't speak after the attack on Monday morning, her employer says.
The screaming and news of an axe attack on a woman in broad daylight at the Westfield Fountain Gate shopping centre at Narre Warren sparked fear and disbelief.
Hasan Zaman, owner of The Beauty and Brow Parlour said staff called security and police when their colleague was attacked.
"She couldn't talk, she was badly beaten," he told AAP.
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"I don't know what he was thinking, a normal person cannot do this ... you can't beat people in this country."
He said it could have been even worse for the woman if had she not been at work.
"It was lucky it was in the shopping centre, we could take immediate action and he didn't run away."
"We'll be doing everything we can as a company - employer and my employees - to be beside her and make sure she gets better," he said.
The man was arrested and police cordoned off nearby shops to investigate the crime scene.
The woman is in the Alfred Hospital in a stable condition.
Mr Zaman said she had separated from her husband in the past year and was living with her two high-school-aged children.
Naomi, a cafe worker, said she saw the woman lying on the floor with blood on her head.
"It makes me feel sick. Everyone feels sick," she said.
Tamar Klein, a store assistant at Ted's, described fear and confusion as two girls ran screaming from the shop where the attack occurred.
"One of them was screaming 'had an axe! Had an axe!' So we didn't know what was going on," she told AAP.
"These days you imagine if it is a terror attack. You don't know if it is between two people or if they will hurt more people."
An assistant manager at a nearby jewellery store, Tracey Wilson, ran out to see what the screaming was about and heard somebody say 'call security'.
"All we heard was yelling and screaming," she told AAP.
"Then we heard there had been an axing of a staff member from one of the stores.
"(It has made me feel) a bit on edge".
National domestic violence helpline: 1800 737 732 or 1800RESPECT. In an emergency call triple-zero.
