A teenager has been allegedly attacked by six men armed with machetes in a shopping centre.

The incident targeting the 14-year-old occurred at Werribee Plaza on Heaths Rd in Hoppers Crossing, in Melbourne’s southwest, about 4.40pm on Saturday.

The boy was rushed to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

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Police said the six offenders fled the scene in a black Hyundai i30 sedan and remain at large as of Sunday afternoon.

The investigation is ongoing.

Local residents said they are “utterly fed up” with the violence and what they see as weak government action on machetes.

“They say, ‘Oh, we’ve made a law that they’re not allowed to buy machetes.’ Big deal — they don’t have to buy them, they’ve got them already,” one resident told 7NEWS.

While it is currently illegal to sell machetes in Victoria, the ban on possessing them will not come into effect until September 1.

Just two days before the alleged attack, a brawl broke out in the same shopping centre.

In that incident, two people were hospitalised after a knife fight inside JD Sports on Thursday night.

Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers.