Apex member speak out: ‘It’s basically racism’

A MEMBER of Melbourne’s notorious Apex gang who was involved in the weekend’s violent CBD riots has spoken out.

James says he joined the Apex gang to gain a sense of community. Picture: ABC 7.30 Report

A MEMBER of MelbourneÂ’s notorious Apex gang who was involved in last weekendÂ’s violent CBD riots says the group has accused authorities of racism.

With his silhouette shadowed and face out of frame, the young South Sudanese man is the first to speak out publicly on behalf of the group in a revealing TV interview.

Identified only as James, the gang member admitted to being at Federation Square on Saturday night when havoc descended on the CBD landmark, but said he wasn’t involved in fighting.

He said the incident, which saw hundreds of rioters storming the area, fighting among themselves and with police, terrifying locals and tourists, had been “blown out of proportion”.

“I wouldn’t say it’s a really big thing, you know. The media always speculated and tries to make things sound big, bigger than they are,” he told ABC’s 7.30.

When pressed on whether the mayhem, which involved youths hurling chairs and provoking baton-wielding police to hit them, was scary for others present in the high traffic area, James said: “Yeah, I understand that, yeah.”

Reaction to the gang violence, believed to be led by suburban Dandenong-based group Apex, has been firm.

Premier Daniel Andrews has vowed to “smash” the youth gangs, and says “poor-me” stories would not illicit sympathy from authorities.

“It doesn’t matter who you are, your circumstances, your background. If you break the law, you will feel the full force of the law,” he announced earlier in the week.

James said he believed the group, largely made up of young men of African ethnicity, had been unfairly targeted.

“I think that’s ridiculous. I think that’s wrong to say that,” he said.

“People find that offensive because it’s coming from a person in a very high position as well.

“(It’s) basically racism.”

The interview aired after a suspected gang member was arrested in Melbourne on Wednesday — the third this week.

Police announced overnight detectives from Taskforce Tense, the unit established to target gang-related violence, arrested a teenage boy at his home Wednesday morning.

The 17-year-old was arrested around 10am as part of an ingoing investigation into a series of alleged burglaries and car thefts in Melbourne’s southeastern and northwestern suburbs.

He was detained overnight and remains in police custody, due to appear at a Children’s Court today.

On Monday, two suspected members of the Apex gang were arrested over a series of alleged car jackings.

Police arrested four people on the night of the brawl, and said they would be making more arrests.

James believes the focus on Apex since Saturday night’s brawl has been unfair and driven by racism.

“There was two groups involved in this alleged incident in the city, but they’re only targeting one group, the Apex group,” he said.

“Why do you think it is? It’s obvious.”