Teenage boy in custody after Pasawm Lyhym fatally stabbed in Sunshine

A 17-year-old boy is in custody and police are searching for two more teens after a boy was stabbed to death near Sunshine Station.

Sixteen-year-old Pasawm Lyhym was stabbed to death near Sunshine Station. Picture: Olivia Jenkins

A 17-year-old boy is in custody as police hunt for multiple knives they believe were used to stab 16-year-old Pasawm Lyhym to death on Thursday.

The teen, from Caroline Springs, was arrested on Friday afternoon as homicide investigators probe what they believe to be a violent fight that erupted between students from two different schools.

The arrest comes as friends and family gathered to attend a small church vigil for the teen.

Rain fell softly over the Chin Baptist Church, in Sunshine’s industrial area, as people arrived for the service.

The pain was visible on the faces of the community members, some holding back tears and others holding their loved ones close.

Earlier, a heavy police presence was reported at two different schools in Melbourne’s west in a bid to locate those involved.

Detective Senior Sergeant Janet Stevenson from Victoria Police’s crime squad said police were still hunting at least two other teens following the attack.

She said they were believed to have fled the scene on foot and have not been seen since.

Pasawm died near Sunshine Station after being attacked with a machete when a group of at least three teenagers set upon him on Thursday afternoon.

Pasawm has been remembered as a ‘kind person’. Picture: Supplied

Earlier on Friday, CCTV footage was released that captured a knife-wielding man running near Sunshine Station in the moments after the Melbourne teenager was fatally stabbed.

Police fear Pasawm’s death could spark retaliation attacks among teenagers across Melbourne’s west as they hunt for teens allegedly involved in Thursday’s public slaying.

“That would be of a concern to us and that’s why we want to engage with the families and engage with the witnesses,” she said.

“We’ll do anything in our power to stop that from happening.

“We’ve identified two other persons of interest, and that’s what we’re working on at the moment,” Detective Inspector Stevenson said.

What allegedly sparked the tension between the two school groups remains unclear.

It is understood that a group of teenagers aged between 15 and 16 years old set upon Pasawm and his group of friends just before 3.45pm and that the teens all knew one another.

“It is very concerning and we take any knife violence seriously,” Det Insp Stevenson said.

Investigators are expected to probe whether a white Audi sedan captured in CCTV footage is connected to the slaying.

Police have not yet found any of the knives used to kill Pasawm.

CCTV, dash cam and mobile phone footage will form part of the investigation into the teen’s death.

One teen was taken to hospital and another received treatment at the scene.

The 17-year-old boy in custody is not known to police.

Pasawm had planned to go to the movies with his brother on Thursday night before he was stabbed to death at the station.

The 16-year-old was allegedly chased down and set upon by at least one assailant during the incident, according to his brother.

Pasawm’s brother, Mawn, 24, returned to the scene on Friday morning to lay floral tributes and reflect on his brother’s life.

Friends say Paswam was chased and attacked. Picture: Supplied

He said the pair had planned to see the new Fast and Furious film in the cinema.

“We have a sibling group chat and I messaged them saying ‘do you guys want to watch Fast and Furious on Thursday night?’

“He was the first person to respond, (he said) ‘yes, let’s go’.”

Mr Lyhym said he was still coming to grips with his younger brother’s death.

“He was funny, really nice, a welcoming and kind person,” he said.

Mr Lyhym told of the moment he’d heard his brother had been killed and called on the offender to hand themselves in.

Friends of Pasawm told his devastated family that he had been chased and attacked.

It happened in front of dozens of shocked commuters.

Mawm Lyhym is still coming to terms with the loss of his little brother. Picture: David Crosling

Pasawm’s cousin, who didn’t wish to be named, said she watched helplessly as he was attacked.

“I tried to call him, texted him, FaceTimed him, I got no response,” he added.

“Life is not fair.

“If this stuff happened to your family, your brothers and sisters, you wouldn’t like it.

“We don’t want to hurt you, just come to us and apologise to us, we just want to see you.

“Just admit it.

“No one deserves to die like this, no one deserves it.”

Several schoolchildren paused to reflect on Thursday afternoon’s tragedy, too shocked to speak of losing their friend.

Family and friends gather at the scene on Friday morning. Picture: David Crosling

Pasawm, a year 11 VCAL student who wanted to be a carpenter, has been remembered as a “kind person”.

Mawn said he’d remember forever when Pasawm told him he loved him.

“At the start of this month, he said ‘I love you brother’, he told me that he loved me,” he said as he broke down in tears.

“He liked dancing, playing music, making me laugh, and we’d sometimes have barbecues.”

Pasawm migrated to Melbourne from Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, about 10 years ago with his family when he was just six years old.

Victoria Matu Community secretary Anna Takluem told the Herald Sun Pasawm’s death had rocked the tight-knit refugee community.

“We are shocked and very saddened by this news because he was a young, beautiful soul,” she said.

“I have known him and the family for years … we are such a small community.”

Ms Takluem said the teen regularly attended church and loved playing sports with others in the Matu community, which was made up of about 600 other refugees.

“He was so lively and he loved to play sport,” she said.

Family and friends lay flowers at the scene in Sunshine where Pasawm died. Picture: David Crosling

Ms Takluem spent Friday morning and afternoon with Pasawm’s loved ones after more than a dozen relatives remained at the crime scene on Thursday night, unable to be reunited with the slain teen’s body until the early hours of Friday morning.

“They were very sad they could not see him right away,” she said.

“He’s such a good kid. The family are still in shock. They are very emotional right now and devastated.

“All we can do is comfort them, be with them, pray with them and just support them emotionally.

“All we want is the best for the family.”

The relative was sitting on another bus at the time of the incident but couldn’t see the assailant’s face.

“I tried to run and get help. I didn’t want to look. It was all so fast,” she said.

The Herald Sun was told Pasawm, who attended Staughton College, in Melton, usually hung out at the station with friends on Thursdays after school.

People gather at the scene following the fatal stabbing. Picture: Wayne Taylor

CCTV from the station and local businesses looms as a key element of the inquiry.

The corner of Station Place and Withers St remained cordoned off on Thursday night as protective services officers patrolled the area.

Several onlookers could be seen crying and wiping away tears, as others peered over the police tape.

The crime scene covered a busy thoroughfare near the station, with the end of a shopping strip taped off.

One fearful resident, who asked not to be named, said the violent incident did not surprise her.

“This is very scary. I am so lucky that all of my children are at home,” the mother of three said.

“It feels like this happens a lot here.”

Another woman said her children had been told to avoid the area near the station after she had seen men carrying knives on “numerous times”.

Family members of the victim at the scene on Thursday night. Picture: Wayne Taylor

Prominent western suburbs youth worker Les Twentyman has for years warned of the risk of violence at Sunshine railway station.

He said the most dangerous time was in the period after school and that the use of knives was alarmingly prevalent.

“They (young people) think they need knives to protect themselves. That’s why they tool up,” he said.

In 2021, a man in his 30s was stabbed on a train before his attacker jumped off when it stopped at Sunshine.

A 38-year-old man was stabbed at the station in 2018 and another in 2015.In 2014, fighting at the station left a man with serious knife wounds.