Ruka Carlson stabbing death the latest bloody chapter in Chapel St history

The stabbing death of a father-of-six with gang links is just the latest in a series of violent incidents playing out on Chapel St, that was once considered one Melbourne’s premier entertainment strips.

A 30-year-old father of six with suspected gang links was about to make his way home to his fiancee when he was slashed to death in the heart of one of Melbourne’s busiest nightclub precincts.

Now, police are hunting up to six killers who made Ruka Carlson the latest victim of Chapel Street’s bloody underbelly.

The Mickleham man died from stab wounds in hospital after a fight broke out between a group of people on the strip about 1.30am Sunday, despite efforts by quick-thinking witnesses to help save him.

His devastated loved ones remembered him as a loyal friend and dedicated father, with his fiance Monique revealing he had told her he loved her and was about to make his way home just before he was killed.

Ruka Carlson was killed after a fight broke out on Chapel St. picture: Instagram

With no arrests and Mr Carlson’s killers on the loose, his devastated loved ones have thanked those who stepped in to help.

Whether the fatal confrontation unfolded inside the notorious Love Machine nightclub will be central to the homicide probe.

Police indicated Mr Carlson may have known his attackers, who unleashed the fatal onslaught in front of shocked clubgoers in scenes that once again turned the troubled clubbing strip into a crime scene.

It’s not the first time the troubled clubbing strip has become a crime scene with terrified residents and traders fearing for the future of the night-life hotspot.

Love Machine Nightclub murders

Gunshots rang out through the street on April 14 2019 when Love Machine security guard Aaron Khalid Osmani, 37, and patron Richard Arow, 28, were gunned down outside the club by 21-year-old Jacob Elliot – the son of slain crime figure Nabil Maghnie – and his accomplice.

Allan Fares, 25, was driving a stolen Porsche while Elliot opened fire from the passenger window, firing four shots and killing the two men.

Former security guard Semisi Tu’itufu was also shot during the ordeal, suffering a gunshot to the shoulder during the ordeal, but survived.

Elliot and Fares were both found guilty of murdering Mr Osmani and Mr Arow and sentenced to life behind bars.

Mohammed “Afghan Ali” Keshtiar

Underworld boss Mohammed “Afghan Ali” Keshtiar was shot dead while walking with a friend on Almeida Crescent, just off Chapel St, on August 4 2023.

Keshtiar had deep ties with a major illegal tobacco syndicate when a team laid in wait to carry out the hit as he walked home to his apartment from a nearby gym.

The public execution was a major turning point in Victoria’s escalating tobacco wars.

But it would be almost two years before the homicide investigation reached a major breakthrough, despite a $1m reward posted by police for information leading to the conviction of his alleged killers.

Abdullay Abdalla, 25, and Adris Kheyali, 23, were this month charged with Keshtiar’s murder.

Their alleged roles in the kill plot remained unclear following their arrests but police say their investigations into Keshtiar’s alleged murder have continued.

The scene of Keshtiar’s shooting in South Yarra. Picture: Luis Enrique Ascui

Revolver Upstairs knife attack

Nineteen-year-old Marc Bounassif and his alleged accomplice left a 31-year-old Endeavour Hills man in an induced coma when they allegedly slashed him with a knife on the dancefloor of the renowned Revolver Upstairs venue in September.

The victim remained in the coma for five days after the alleged attack, which a court heard unfolded when the two men smirked at the victim, which sparked an argument.

Mr Bounassif allegedly stabbed the man 13 times with a small knife while he crouched on his hands and knees inside the venue.

The second man then allegedly slashed him in the venue’s stairwell with a machete after the trio fell down the flight of stairs.

That man and Mr Bounassif, who was already on bail when he allegedly unleashed the stabbing attack on the man, have remained in custody.

Mr Bounassif was charged with intentionally causing serious injury, possessing a controlled weapon near a licensed premises, two counts of drug possession and failing to answer bail.

. Homicide Squad detectives are investigating following a fatal stabbing on Chapel St. Picture: Valeriu Campan

Teen shot in hand after gig

Nineteen-year-old Tarneit teenager Machar Machar was shot in the hand outside Chasers nightclub after the popular venue hosted an event featuring prominent Melbourne rapper Sean “BBG Smokey” Deng on February 15 2020.

Narre Warren South man Michael Alfred, 22, was last year jailed over the drive-by ambush, during which Alfred and another person opened fire on Machar before speeding away in a stolen Audi SUV that was later found dumped nearby.

A court heard that while it could not be determined whether Alfred was the one who fired the shots at Mr Machar, he and the other person in the car had set out to “intentionally injure Mr Machar”.

Alfred was sentenced to an 18 month non-parole period behind bars for the targeted attack, but Mr Machar’s family had maintained the then-teen did not know his shooters.

Six arrested over knife fight

An 18-year-old man was left with horrific stab wounds to his buttocks and groin area after a fight broke out between a group of men outside Love Machine.

His injuries were so severe that he was placed into an induced coma for several days after the alleged brawl and was forced to undergo three emergency operations on his mid and lower body.

Police arrested six men over the alleged ordeal, which unfolded just two days after a patched Comanchero bikie was allegedly caught up in another altercation at the same club.

Bumbling Lux arsonist sets himself alight

Footage obtained exclusively by the Herald Sun showed an arsonist setting himself alight while torching the Lux Nightclub on Chapel St on November 21 last year in an attack believed to have been ordered by exiled tobacco kingpin Kazem “Kaz” Hamad.

Another offender was captured pouring more accelerant from a red jerry can onto the footpath at the venue before three offenders in total fled back to a vehicle that had been left running.

They then sped off north along Chapel St toward Richmond.

‘Catastrophic’ burns for another clumsy firebug

A 51-year-old man suffered horrific burns after setting himself on fire during an arson attempt on a Chapel St tobacconist in January.

He remained in hospital with “life changing” injuries for weeks following the alleged arson.

In footage obtained by the Herald Sun, piercing screams can be heard coming from the man as he rolled around on the ground in a desperate attempt to extinguish the flames that had taken hold of his clothing.

Man shot in leg

A 38-year-old South Yarra man was allegedly shot in the leg in a targeted attack early on the morning of August 27 2023.

Police arrested and questioned a 42-year-old South Yarra man over the alleged incident, which unfolded just a few streets over from where Afghan Ali was allegedly gunned down.

Daylight stabbing

A 37-year-old South Yarra man was stabbed outside the In & Out Tobacconist near the intersection of Chapel St and Malvern Rd just before 8am on February 5 this year.

A 24-year-old man with no fixed address was arrested over the daylight assault.