Elbino Akueng (inset) said his son and the other victims were on their way home from a local basketball stadium when they were attacked by a group with machetes. Photo / NewsWire
Neighbours have recounted the moment a 12-year-old boy begged for help before he and another child were found dead at separate crime scenes, believed to be linked, in Melbourne.
A heartbroken father has arrived at the scene of his child’s death, defiantly pleading for justice.
“He is a basketball player, not a criminal,” he told reporters.
The horrifying affair has been painted as the “tragic outcome of the crime crisis in Victoria”.
Victoria Police homicide detectives are on the scene at two addresses about 200m apart in Cobblebank, 33km from the CBD, where a 12-year-old boy and a 15-year-old boy were killed in a suspected youth gang attack on Saturday night.
The youngest victim had been stabbed to death and was found at a house on Marble Drive.
The teen victim sustained “horrific mutilation injuries” and was found dead at a nearby address on Cobble St.
It is being treated as a “targeted attack, and the investigation remains ongoing”, Victoria Police said in a statement to news.com.au.
According to family, the boys were among a group of friends walking home from a local basketball stadium.
Police descended on the two addresses at about 8pm on Saturday (local time) and cordoned off the street.
They arrived on Marble Drive to find a 12-year-old male with critical injuries and started CPR, but the boy died at the scene, police confirmed.
A short time later, police responded to reports of another boy who was seriously injured nearby on Cobble St.
Treatment was given to the 15-year-old male, but he also died at the scene.
The father of the 15-year-old victim, named as Dau Akueng, fronted media at the scene, pleading that justice be served.
Elbino Akueng said his son and the other victims were on their way home from a local basketball stadium when they were attacked by a group with machetes.
“I’m talking right now [on] behalf of my community,” Akueng said.
“In this month, four kids in similar incidents and there is no answer from police. There is no answer for justice.
“I told the police last night that I need an answer for my son. My son is just gone ... like this.
“He is a basketball player, not a criminal.”
His son was just blocks from his home when he was attacked, his father said.
He was with his friends, who included the 12-year-old child who also died roughly 200m away.
Akueng, a security guard according to the Herald Sun, said: “I protect the community, but no one protects my family at home.”.
“I am a part of this society, a part of this community. I will protect people where I work, 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. What do we say? We’ve asked for answers.
“Who killed my son? Where is my son? This case will go on and on.”
A family friend told media: “Dau loved basketball. He loved to joke around, he loved to make friends.”
Akueng said: “I’ll miss you my son, I will miss you forever. God Bless. God Bless”.
One resident, Clarissa Dunn, told the media she tried to save one of the children after hearing “screaming” and running out of her house.
Through tears, Dunn recounted the moment she heard someone saying “please help me”, over and over again, according to the Herald Sun.
She found the child bent over in pain on the ground, revealing their “injuries were something else”.
She had called triple-zero (Australia’s emergency number, equivalent to New Zealand’s 111) and recounted how she did her best to comfort the boy.
“I said ‘I am so sorry darling, you are with me’ and [he] took [his] last breath,” Dunn said.
The resident revealed she was with paramedics when they received a call about the second victim.
“There was this blood-curdling scream as the mother arrived,” she said.
Another neighbour said their CCTV security footage captured the moment the 12-year-old boy was allegedly attacked by three people.
The neighbour stated that the incident was brief before the trio fled the scene.
Leader of the Opposition Brad Battin told the Herald Sun that Saturday night’s attacks were the “tragic outcome of the crime crisis in Victoria”.
“Too many Victorians have been victims of crime. Last night, two more Victorians were tragically added to that tally,” Battin said.
“When we talk about the crime crisis, we can never lose sight of its human cost. These are not just statistics, they represent lives lost, families shattered and communities forever changed.”
Liberal MP Moira Deeming, a staunch critic of the Victorian Government’s handling of youth crime, said she was “sad but not surprised” by the events.
“Enough is enough,” she declared.
Aged Care Minister Sam Rae, whose division of Hawke includes Cobblebank, told Sky News’ Sunday Agenda: “This has been a harrowing night for my community, these are incredibly distressing reports that have emerged.
“We’ve seemingly lost two children overnight.
“My job at this point is to support those families, support my community and to support the police to do their job in ensuring that we get justice for this heinous crime.”
Victoria’s crime rate has surged over the past year.
Recent data released by the Crime Statistics Agency (CSA) found the number of offences recorded by Victoria Police in the 12 months to March 31, 2025, was 627,268, a 17.1% increase.
Person victim reports increased by 20.1% for the same period.
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