VICTORIA Police has lashed suggestions it was under-resourced and soft-handed on Saturday night when responding to a brutal street brawl in Melbourne that left a teenage boy with serious leg injuries and residents cowering in their homes.

About 2.30am Sunday, 200 people spilt out of the Gasometer Hotel on Smith St in Collingwood after a record label launch event finished.

Dozens of them started walking down the street, taking up the entire road and blocking traffic, before things escalated into an all-out brawl.

Seven people were injured, including an 18-year-old boy who was pinned against a parked vehicle when an accelerating car hit him.

In a press conference yesterday afternoon, Acting Deputy Commissioner Bob Hill said police made no arrests because their attention was on the severely injured teen.

Victoria Police confirmed the teen witnessed the fatal stabbing of 19-year-old Laa Chol.

Ms Chol was stabbed to death on the balcony of a high-rise Melbourne apartment block in July. Two male teenagers, a 16-year-old and 17-year-old, have been charged with her murder.

“Our focus was on dealing with and attending to those that were injured and working out what actually happened,” Mr Hill said.

“That man has lost his leg as a result of the despicable actions of the driver.”

Victoria Police has since ammended the amputation statement and said the teen still has both his legs.

An Alfred Hospital spokeswoman confirmed the teen was in a serious but stable condition with severe leg injuries and has not undergone an amputation.

media_camera Laa Chol died in July after being stabbed, an incident witnessed by the teen who lost his leg on the weekend.

An 18-year-old man, believed to be the driver, was arrested yesterday while police executed a search warrant at his property.

He was interviewed and released, pending further investigation.

A day before the launch, event organiser J-Nelly told revellers to be on their best behaviour in a Facebook post writing, “violence will not be tolerated”.

“A moment of anger isn’t worth a lifetime of bad labeling (sic),” he wrote in all capitals.

J-Nelly said organisers had also met with ‘‘federal detectives, who are very concerned with the energy, which they have related to the latest sparks of new reports degrading the African community”.

After the horror brawl, a number of politicians and a former Victorian police commissioner slammed the state’s police and said Premier Daniel Andrews had “lost control” of his state.

“Daniel Andrews has lost control of law and order in Victoria,” Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton told The Australian.

“The longer the Premier refuses to act, the more people will be at risk of serious injury.”

Mr Hill denied Victoria Police was to blame and said the state had doubled the number of frontline cops on Saturday night and had previously suggested the event shouldn’t go ahead.

Mr Hill said Victoria Police was made aware of the 66 Records launch weeks before the event and engaged in talks with the organisers and the hotel.

After consultation, Mr Hill said Victoria Police recommended Gasometer Hotel cancel the launch event.

The organisers of 66 Records then sought legal advice from Fitzroy Legal Service, who suggested the event could proceed.

“We informed them of the potential risk … that we were aware people attending the event were known to us, that they had a criminal history,” Mr Hill said.

media_camera CCTV footage captures the brawl in motion.

media_camera Three cars were damaged in the early hours of Sunday morning. Picture: Julian Smith

Mr Hill said Victoria Police attended the Gasometer Hotel a handful of times on Saturday night and even arrested a man out the front of the venue for drunkenness at 2am, half an hour before the all-out brawl.

“Our presence was well-known and seen. We did 34 venue visits to different premises, to the nine venues flagged,” he said.

“To suggest Victoria Police was not prepared, to suggest rostering was not adequate, to suggest we have a no arrest policy is absolute nonsense.

“We are police, we hold people to account. We are here to enforce the law.”

Officers came under fire for making no arrests on Saturday night despite reports at least 100 people were involved in the street brawl.

Mr Hill said as soon as police were aware of the street fight they responded “within seconds”.

“I’m not going to judge the tactical decisions made by frontline police,” he said.

“When the crash occurred we were virtually on site in seconds … They were confronted by a large, hostile group … but when police attended, people dispersed. They stopped straight away and ran.

“Police were confronted by hundreds of people brawling in the street. Think what it could result in if we start grabbing people in the street.”

media_camera The damaged cars on Mater St, Collingwood.

media_camera Dozens of people were involved in the brawl. Picture: 7 News

Commander Tim Hansen said the escalating behaviour came out of left field.

Witnesses said police in the three patrol cars effectively had to stand and watch the dozens of people violently brawl due to being severely outnumbered.

Officers are also still searching for the people who instigated the all-out brawl that left six other people injured and three cars damaged.

Former Victoria Police chief commissioner Kel Glare said the state’s officers needed to change the way it approached potentially high-risk events.

“I am losing hope this will be solved under the current leadership of Victoria Police,” Mr Glare told The Australian.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison also turned his attention to the state’s police and questioned why other parts of Australia don’t have an “African gangs problem”.

“We have the highest proportion of Sudanese population in NSW, we don’t have these problems in NSW,” Mr Morrison told 3AW.

“Why is it happening in Melbourne? Law and order means something in NSW.

“I feel for Victorians who are asking the big question, why is this happening in our city, and not in other places?”

“There is a law and order problem, clearly in Victoria.

“We have a police force, that is a force.”

media_camera Police gather evidence at the scene of the violent Collingwood brawl. Picture: Sarah Matray

Originally published as Teen hit by car was witness to murder