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Seven young men and teenagers have been arrested over the high-profile stabbing deaths of two children in Melbourne earlier this month.
Chol Achiek, 12, and Dau Akueng, 15, died after being attacked while walking home at Cobblebank in Melbourne’s outer north-west on 6 September.
The pair were ambushed by masked males armed with machetes and other bladed weapons.
Another boy, who was walking with the victims after the group watched a basketball game together, managed to escape.
Police raided properties in Melton South, Thornhill Park, Caroline Springs, Sunbury, Wollert, Hillside and Sydenham on Thursday morning, arresting seven males.
A 19-year-old Thornhill Park man, a 19-year-old Caroline Springs man and an 18-year-old Wollert man were among those arrested.
Three 16-year-old boys and a 15-year-old boy, all from the north-western suburbs of Melbourne, were also arrested.
Charges are yet to be laid against any of the teens. All seven will be interviewed by Victoria Police detectives.
‘It doesn’t make sense’
Assistant commissioner Martin O’Brien said the arrests followed almost two weeks of diligent and thorough police work.
“The word senseless has been used so many times already in relation to the deaths of Dau Akueng and Chol Achiek, because the reality is that it doesn’t make sense,” he said.
“Two children walking home after playing sport, who should have had decades of their lives ahead of them.
“Instead, their devastated families are grieving their loss and all the things they will never get to see two children grow up to achieve and experience.”
A GoFundMe page set up after the deaths said Dau grew up in the flats around Fitzroy and Collingwood, playing and refereeing for the Collingwood Basketball Association.
He also played for the Wolfpack Basketball Club after his family moved to the city’s outer west, while Chol was a member of the Nile Warriors Basketball Club.
Chol’s father, Chuti Ngong, told mourners at a vigil his son was a peaceful boy who was loved by everybody.
The impact of the deaths of the boys has been felt right across the Victorian community, police said.
“I know many people will be feeling shocked, frustrated and concerned in light of this matter,” O’Brien said.
“I want to reassure you that locally, police will have increased patrols in the area and are working closely with community groups.”
The Victorian government reconvened a South Sudanese Australian youth justice expert working group in response to the deaths.
The arrests were a “good thing” after almost two weeks of “excruciating pain” for the victim’s families, Victorian minister Lily D’Ambrosio said.
“This has absolutely been a heartbreaking chapter,” she told reporters.
Opposition police spokesperson David Southwick said the boys’ deaths should never have happened.
“(The families) need closure and the sooner that those individuals who were responsible for this face the full force of the law, the better I think it is for everybody,” he said.
