Terrifying surge in Victorian teens caught up in gang-related killings
The rate of teenagers — some as young as 10 — being implicated in horror gang-related pack killings has surged to alarming levels in Victoria in the past decade, and some have never before been in trouble with the law.
Horrific gang-related pack killings are driving up the number of teenagers implicated in homicides in Victoria.
The rate of young people being arrested or summonsed over homicides has surged by almost 70 per cent in the past decade.
Victoria Police figures show a total of 165 offenders aged 10 to 19 have been entangled in such investigations in that time.
That was a 68 per cent increase on the average for the seven years previous when the number was 59.
There is concern at the increasing number of young offenders whose first offence is a homicide matter.
The Herald Sun has been told “cleanskins” had allegedly been involved in numerous high-profile murders, including one recent case.
“Two of them have never been in trouble with the law,” a source said of a group charged in that matter.
A major factor in the increased numbers dealt with over the killings is that more are being committed by multiple offenders.
Some of the most brutal of the cases have involved as many as 11 offenders.
They are frequently highly challenging inquiries because of the difficulty of establishing exactly who had done what.
The statistics only run until June this year and, since then, youths have been charged over two other killings allegedly involving multiple offenders.
On September 6, Chol Achiek, 12, and Dau Akueng, 15, died from injuries suffered in savage street attacks at Cobblebank.
Six of the eight people charged over their deaths were teenagers.
Three weeks later, Kaiden Morgan-Johnston died in a brutal onslaught at Morwell.
Two males, aged 16 and 19, have been charged with his murder.
Eighteen-year-old Kon Hsu Sein was allegedly chased down and stabbed to death by a group of young people in a rival gang in Kurunjang just before Christmas last year.
Two of the five people charged over his deaths were youths, with initial reports estimating up to 40 young people descended on the area where Kon was killed.
Assistant Commissioner Martin O’Brien of Victoria Police crime command said the magnitude of a violent death was often magnified when children were involved.
“The impacts of those incidents are felt right through our communities – from the families who lose a loved one through to the loss of safety people feel as a result,” he said.
Mr O’Brien said there had been several deaths with multiple youths charged in recent years, including the Cobblebank case, the alleged murder of Declan Cutler at Reservoir in 2022, Khalid Mahat at Heidelberg West in the same year and Solomone Taufeulungaki at Deer Park in 2020.
Four teenagers were charged over Khalid’s murder and eight youths were charged with Declan’s murder.
Nine of the 11 people charged with murdering Solomone were underage.
Mr O’Brien said: “These are often complex investigations and the motivation for young people to be involved in an incident like this can vary.
“What doesn’t change is the tragedy of the outcome, all because of senseless, violent and, ultimately, avoidable act.”
A report conducted by the Victorian Coroners Court as a result of Solomone’s death found there was “an increasing trend over time” of child offenders being involved in knife murders.
It noted that almost half of Victoria’s youth gang offending took place in Melbourne’s north western suburbs.
Les Twentyman Foundation programs general manager Chris Lacey said the “deeply concerning” pack attacks by kids showed why at-risk youths needed earlier support to stay connected to their families, schools and the community.
“Young people can be influenced by others in their cohort and drawn into behaviour they don’t fully understand or know how to walk away from,” Mr Lacey said.
“There’s a perception they act willingly, but in many cases they’re simply with the wrong people at the wrong time, without the maturity or support to make better choices.”
Originally published as Terrifying surge in Victorian teens caught up in gang-related killings
