‘Wannabe’ child gangsters posting disturbing crimes online

School-aged Australian kids are taking part in a disturbing trend of filming their crimes and acts of violence and boasting about it online.

A disturbing trend is on the rise among young Australians, with groups of school-aged children filming themselves committing violent crimes and then proudly displaying it on social media.

The children call themselves “eshays” and are described as “wannabe gangsters” who wear designer clothes and bum bags, and carry knives.

They have various social media accounts where they boast about the drugs they take and details their violent criminal acts.

An increasing number of these eshay accounts are popping up in Sydney, Melbourne, the Gold Coast and Perth.

These so-called child gang members are often involved in violent attacks.

They are known for dressing and acting a certain way.

One parent, known only as David, told A Current Affair the dangerous groups of kids were brought to his attention after his child showed him a disturbing video.

The footage showed two school kids who were walking home being, harassed by a group of teens.

Out of nowhere a boy starts attacking one of the students, punching and kicking him as the other child screams at him to stop.

He claimed the violent attacks were a way of earning respect within these groups.

“It’s very concerning, because I’m sure there are parents out there who don’t know that their kids are being assaulted,” David told the program.

One parent has spoken out about the rise of these groups.

They like to boast about their lives on social media.

“They like to instigate fights against innocent children, they steal, wear designer clothing and some of them carry knives.”

Another video shows a group of young teenagers bashing a boy against a fence. They hit and kick him until one of them demands he hand over his watch.

Other photos and videos posted to social media show similar attacks, children posing with weapons and doing drugs.

One photo shows a teen with a bandana wrapped around half of his face and holding a small knife with the caption: “I’ll jab ya dog”.

A lot of the content on these “eshay” profiles involve drugs.

A school-aged child poses next to a smashed bus window.

In another, a child can be seen posing in front of a bus with a smashed window.

Bond University criminologist and former police officer Terry Goldsworth has called for the police to start cracking down on these groups.

“They’re just bullies and cowards and ultimately criminals, because they’re committing criminal acts,” he said.

“If you look at some of the assaults you can see the footage of … they’re punching to the head, they’re kicking to the head.

“It’s all the kind of behaviours we focused on when we had coward punching laws come in, it’s no different, you know. Any force to the head can be potentially life-threatening.”