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Police investigating after 'shopper pulls out knife in Woolworths toilet paper aisle'

There have been reports of a person being threatened with a knife at a Woolworths in western Sydney, allegedly over toilet paper, amid the coronavirus panic.

The confrontation allegedly occurred on Wednesday afternoon at the store in Westfield, Parramatta.

NSW Police confirmed officers attended the scene.

“At 1.30pm today police were called to a supermarket on Campbell Street in Parramatta, following reports of a disturbance in an aisle,” NSW Police spokesperson confirmed to Yahoo News Australia.

“Spoke to a person at the scene, it was established there was a dispute. No people were injured, no arrests were made.”

Police also confirmed that they are not questioning anyone over the incident.

Earlier, a Woolworths spokesperson told Yahoo News Australia they were aware of the incident and said that the confrontation had been between two customers.

Customers engaged in a confrontation where one pulled a knife out on the other, at a Woolworths at Westfield Parramatta. Source: AAP
Customers engaged in a confrontation where one pulled a knife out on the other, at a Woolworths at Westfield Parramatta. Source: AAP

The spokesperson also said no Woolworths team members were injured and police were called to the scene.

A member of the public who didn’t see the incident, but did witness the aftermath, told Yahoo News Australia when he walked into the Woolworths at around 1.15pm, a staff member told him “people were losing their s**t”.

The man, who did not wish to be named, said the Woolworths employee told him someone had “pulled a knife” on another customer in the toilet paper aisle of the store.

Police officers and staff members were working to stop people from going down the aisle when the man was in the store.

“People thought they were getting stopped from going down the aisle because there was no toilet paper,” the man told Yahoo News Australia.

The man then saw the store manager running to block off the aisle and more police walking through the store.

Yahoo News Australia has reached out to Westfield for comment.

Earlier today, Woolworths announced a purchase limit on toilet paper to counter the buying frenzy in a panic amid the coronavirus hysteria in Australia.

A Woolworths spokesperson confirmed to Yahoo News Australia each customer will only be able to buy four packs of toilet rolls in store or online.

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