‘Needs to stop’: Friend’s plea to gangs after double Melbourne stabbing
A mate of a boy killed in Melbourne's double knife attack has begged youngsters to reject gang life, as migrant families make a tough choice.
A close friend of a boy stabbed to death in the latest nadir of Melbourne’s knife crime crisis has pleaded with youngsters to walk away from gang life, as terrified migrant parents are sending their children back to Africa because of their concerns.
The deaths of Dau Akueng, 15, and Chol Achiek, 12, on Saturday has outraged Victorians and has been a reality check for kids caught up in youth crime, comments on an online platform suggest.
Dau and Chol were walking home from a basketball court in the outer western suburb of Cobblebank about 8pm when they were ambushed by armed gang members.
Writing anonymously on the online platform, which chronicles postcode gangs and drill rappers, a friend of Chol said his death resulted from a “petty stabbing”.
“This needs to be stopped,” they wrote.
“He was a great kid, sure he wasn’t perfect but who is. Every time I would see him at school, he always had a smile on his face no matter what.
“He was a friend, a friend that would always make me laugh to the point of getting kicked out the classroom and going to the office, a friend that would help anyone no matter what.
“But most importantly, he was a friend who was young and had a whole life ahead of him but he never had that opportunity up until yesterday.”
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Police believe the incident was targeted but flagged it was possible the boys were victims of mistaken identity.
Up to eight people, armed with machetes, were involved in the double attack that played out before shocked neighbours on Marble Dr.
Harrowing CCTV footage captured the moment one of the boys was chased by three assailants before being repeatedly stabbed and hacked at, with his cries of pain ringing out.
Chol’s friend claimed the stabbing was carried out “because of the two boys acting stupid”.
They said the incident was “truly disgusting”, adding “I believe in life revenge serves no purpose”.
“Just because something happened that makes you feel like you need to go get avengeance (sic), please don’t as you will go down a path of misery and when you eventually do get your get back, you feel empty inside eternally.
“These gang members killed 2 teens but at what cost? Was rotting in jail worth it? Was taking the life of 2 teens worth it?
“Was making family’s (sic) suffer for eternity? I don’t think so.”
The post ended by calling for fellow members of Melbourne’s South Sudanese community not to think entering the gang life was “the only way out”.
“I get it it’s hard but your life will forever be cursed if you stay in the same path,” they said.
Other posts on the page expressed shock at the Cobblebank deaths, which followed months of rising public anger at youth crime in Melbourne.
“S**s gotta stop,” one person wrote.
“This ain’t America or Europe, I know you criminals get a thrill of doing something bad but cut out the violence and maybe use that thrill to get a job.”
Another asked: “Do people not fear god no more cause what is actually happening?”
“U gotta believe in god to fear him,” another user replied.
Meanwhile the Chief of Melbourne-based not-for-profit organisation Africause, Dr Berhan Ahmed, told the Herald Sun that migrant parents were begging authorities to protect their children, with some having no choice but to send their teenagers back to Africa.
“I have mothers coming to my office saying the gangs want to kill my child,” he said.
“When the police won’t help, I help them to take the child out of the country.”
Youth crime is at its highest levels in Victoria since 2009, and the overall crime rate rose 13.2 per cent in 2024.
Analysis found that a huge driver of the damning crime statistics was repeat youth offenders, with 6,137 offenders responsible for more than 20,000 incidents.
It led to the state government introducing the “toughest bail laws in the country” in response to Victorians being “rightly disgusted with repeated, violent offending”.
New “post and boast” legislation outlawing the glorification of certain crimes like carjacking, home invasions, burglary and affray were also passed in August.
The laws carry a maximum additional two-year prison term on top of sentences for primary offences, targeting youths chasing clout on social media or via music ventures like drill rap.
Dau’s father Elbino Akueng, a security guard, told reporters on Sunday he worked to protect the community but asked “who was protecting his loved ones in return?”
“I protect the community, but no one protects my family at home,” he said.
“I protect people outside of their homes, and then I come home and a loved one is not there.
“I told the police last night I need an answer for my son. My son is just gone … like this. “He’s a basketball player, not a criminal.”
The Victorian Premier on Monday night called a meeting of members of the Australian South Sudanese community groups following the violent deaths.
Premier Jacinta Allan is pulling together a meeting of community groups – the South Sudanese Community of Melton and the South Sudanese Community of Wyndham – in the wake of the attacks.
The Premier said on Monday she had spoken to the chairman of the two groups.
“On behalf of the Victorian government, I send my profound condolences directly to the families, friends and schoolmates of two children we lost to a senseless crime,” she said.
Opposition Leader Brad Battin earlier criticised Premier Jacinta Allan for having not commented on Saturday night’s murders.
Mr Battin said there was a “rolling crisis” in Victoria, citing the number of stabbing deaths in recent years.
“These numbers are not acceptable and each and every time we talk about them we have to remember they are people,” he said.
“There are families that are left behind.”
Speaking at a press conference on Sunday afternoon, Detective Inspector Graham Banks said Saturday night’s incident was “one of the most horrific crimes in a substantial and growing list of crimes of this nature”.
“The children who were murdered were not gang members, and it is not OK to remain silent.”
Insp Banks said current penalties did not meet his own or the wider community’s expectations.
“The policing position’s always been that there needs to be a strong deterrent for this type of behaviour, for carrying weapons, for people who break into homes with weapons, for people who carjack, for people who assault people with weapons,” he said.
“Whether that balance is right is really a matter for the community and the courts and ultimately the government.
“As I stand here before you, I think the penalties aren’t in balance with what community expectations are or mine.”
