Youth gang crime has been branded a cancer as a state turns to local experts in response to the double murder of two innocent boys.
Dau Akueng, 15, and another boy, 12, were walking home in Cobblebank, late on Saturday when police say they were ambushed by eight masked males and fatally stabbed.
The search for the perpetrators, whom authorities say could have gang links, continued on Monday amid calls for tougher penalties for weapons-related violence.
Offences statewide committed by youths aged 10 to 17 jumped 17.9 per cent in the year to March to its highest level since records began in 1993, according to the latest crime statistics.
Premier Jacinta Allan said she spoke with South Sudanese Community of Melton chair John Garang Kon and South Sudanese Community of Wyndham chair Richard Deng on Monday.
“I told them that we mourn with them following the loss of two children in a shocking and violent killing,“ she said in a statement.
“I told them we stand with them in their fight against the cancer of youth gang crime that is breaking their community’s heart.“
The Labor leader wants locals to bring “local solutions“ to government and has convened a South Sudanese Australian youth justice expert working group.
“The solutions to the fight against violent crime can’t just be imposed upon the community. They must come from the community,“ Ms Allan said.
Police Minister Anthony Carbines conceded people believed youth crime in Victoria was at its worst.
The state government had responded to police frustration by legislating to strengthen bail laws and bolster stop and search powers, he said, without pledging further legal changes.
Senior Victoria police officer Graham Banks on Sunday broke with the government, demanding tougher penalties following the killings.
“As I stand here before you, I think the penalties aren’t in balance with what community expectations are or mine,“ the senior cop said.
The state opposition backs his call, saying Victorians no longer feel safe in their homes.
“The Allan Labor government need to come out with solutions, not media releases,“ Liberal leader Brad Battin told reporters on Monday.
The older victim’s father Elbino Akueng visited the scene on Sunday, describing his son as “a basketball player, not a criminal“.
Police believe the ambush was targeted, but are not ruling out a case of mistaken identity, saying the victims were not gang members.
Collingwood Basketball Association general manager Trent Pearson said he knew the “talented player“, who would be “sorely missed“.
On Marble Drive, where one crime scene was set up, local resident Jatinder Kaur said she was alerted to the attack by her daughter, who saw “flashing lights“ out the window.
Ms Kaur said her children had struggled to sleep since the killings, describing the events as “too scary for them“.
Another local, Christopher McFarlane, said he discovered one of the boys’ bodies after hearing noises outside his home on Cobble St.
Mr McFarlane said he saw the offenders, brandishing machetes, jump into a large car just before 8pm.
“This is such a safe area, but now that’s all gone,“ Mr McFarlane said.
“Everyone’s just devastated and shocked. We’ve just got the machete bins in – they haven’t done much good.“
A ban on machetes in Victoria came into effect on September 1, with special bins installed at 45 police stations for disposal of the weapons.
