Two people are dead following two suspected homicides, including a teenager who died during a knife brawl in Melbourne’s west.
Police believe the incidents are unrelated, and in both cases the people involved were known to each other.
Homicide squad detectives arrested two males following the death of an 18-year-old in Kurunjang last night.Credit: Nine News
In the first incident, an 18-year-old male was fatally stabbed in Kurunjang, north of Melton, about 7pm on Friday following a brawl involving a group of about 40 youths, some of whom were brandishing knives.
North West Metro Region Acting Superintendent Kelly Walker said on Saturday afternoon that preliminary investigations indicated it was a “targeted attack” and said police were investigating and exhausting all avenues to find those responsible.
She said when police arrived at the scene on McBurnie Drive they found three males injured, including the 18-year-old man who was pronounced dead at the scene.
The two other males, a 22-year-old man and a 15-year-old boy, both from the neighbouring suburb of Harkness, were taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, where they remain under police guard.
These two males had upper and lower body injuries, Walker said.
“Police haven’t been able to speak with the people in hospital yet,” she said. “They’re under hospital guard, and they are going to be spoken to as soon as they’re available.”
Walker said she was unable to confirm if any of those involved in the melee were known to police or had any links to gangs at this stage of the investigation.
However, she said police were concerned by the sheer number of young people involved in the brawl.
“I think the community should definitely feel unrest,” Walker said.
“We’ve got large groups ... We do have weapons that were reported at the scene … We have a victim, and we have parents now without a child at Christmas.”
She said police continued to comb through CCTV and make investigations in the area.
In a separate incident, a man was shot dead in a quiet suburban street in Campbellfield in Melbourne’s north, prompting a homicide investigation.
Police were called to a home on Gentles Avenue following reports at least eight shots had been fired at about 10.10pm.
Police attended and found a man with critical gunshot wounds lying on the street. He was rushed to hospital, where he later died.
Investigators said the victim, a 60-year-old Craigieburn man, was shot outside the house.
A burnt-out car was found on Northbourne Road in Campbellfield just after 11pm, and detectives are probing whether it was used as a getaway car.
Police at the scene of the Campbellfield shooting.Credit: Nine
Two men are under police guard in hospital following the fatal Campbellfield shooting.
The pair, a 20-year-old from Yarraville and a 22-year-old from Westmeadows, came to police attention after being dropped at a hospital with injuries investigators believe could be linked to the fatal shooting.
Walker said they will be interviewed in relation to the incident, which police also believed was a targeted attack.
She said it was not clear yet if the shooting had any links related to organised crime or if those involved were known to police.
“We have an investigation in its infancy with homicide squad,” Walker said.
Anyone who witnessed either incident, with dashcam/CCTV footage or information, is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or submit a confidential report online at crimestoppersvic.com.au.
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