Vyleen White’s daughter joins African community to call for calm

The daughter of stabbing victim Vyleen White has called on Premier Steven Miles to “step up or step out” over the youth crime crisis.

Flowers left outside the Redback Plains shopping centre where a grandmother was fatally stabbed. Picture: John Gass

• Cops ‘shaken’ at little girl’s stabbing account

Vyleen White’s daughter has called on Premier Steven Miles to “step up or step out” over the youth crime crisis.

Cindy Micallef took part in a joint media conference with the Queensland African Communities Council on Thursday to call for calm, a move president Beny Bol said was rare and unexpected.

Mrs Micallef said Mr Miles had visited the family but it felt like a “box-ticking exercise”.

Her message to Mr Miles was: “You’re not the man for the job if you can’t reassure people in the community that (youth crime) is the utmost priority. It’s life and death … if you’re pushing that aside, you’re not the right person for the job.”

Mrs Micallef said she did not want the community divided over her mother’s death.

Vyleen White's daughter, Cindy Micallef with President of the Queensland African Communities Council (QACC) Beny Bol. Pic: Lyndon Mechielsen/Courier Mail

“My mother loved everybody, and she was a devoted Christian,” she said.

“I do not want her death to divide Australians because it had nothing to do with cultural or religious community.

“Let’s seek justice and also find collective and individual solutions to support the young people and families who might be going through the cracks in our system so that no other family can go through this traumatic and painful experience.”

A 16-year-old boy has been charged with the murder of Mrs White, who was stabbed on Saturday night during an alleged carjacking at Town Square Redbank Plains.

Four other teens have been charged with car theft in relation to the incident and they have not been charged with any offence in relation to Ms White’s death.

Mr Bol said the families of the teens were traumatised.

A youth is arrested in relation to the fatal stabbing of Vyleen White.

A 16-year-old has been charged with Vyleen White’s murder.

“Most of these young people have got an extensive network across the country, can influence each other,” he said.

“Families don’t know what to do … they believe the system has disempowered them.

“We have to differentiate between individual young people who are committing crimes and their parents.”

Mrs Micallef said that although her family had been “torn apart”, she wanted the community to “pursue peace”.

She revealed there had been reports of Somalian families who had been too fearful to take their children to school.

Vyleen White was stabbed to death at a suburban shopping centre. Picture: Facebook

“We all need to stand together … we all need to feel safe,” she said. “You are always going to have rogue kids … there’s always going to be troublemakers – you don’t judge the whole community by a couple of bad apples.”

Mrs Micallef also called for serious repeat offenders to be fitted with electronic ankle bracelets if granted bail.

She and Mr Bol co-chaired a forum at Redbank Plains African Youth Centre on Thursday night, attended by Member for Bundamba Lance McCallum, Opposition multiculturalism spokesman John Paul Langbroek, Ipswich Mayor Theresa Harding and District Police Inspector Kylie Rigg.

And Mrs Micallef had a further message for politicians.

“Pull your finger out, that’s all I’m going to say,” she said.