A candlelight vigil will be held in Melbourne’s west following the horrific stabbing deaths of two children.
Dau Akueng, 15, and Chol Achiek, 12, were walking home from a basketball game when they were ambushed by a group of about eight people in Cobblebank about 8pm on Saturday.
CCTV shows the boys first walking, and then fleeing as they were chased through the streets.
It also captured their stabbing murders outside the homes of their neighbours.
Chol was found on Marble Dr, and Dau on Cobble St, as the attackers fled.
A third friend they were walking with managed to escape.
The deaths are at this stage believed to be a case of mistaken identity.
A vigil will be held in Cobblebank tonight at 6.30pm at a local park for the two boys.
Mourners have been asked to bring a LED candle or light.
“Together we can show that violence has no place in our community,” a notice for the vigil said.
Eight gang members remain on the run following the horrific attack.
On Monday night Premier Jacinta Allan offered her condolences to the families of the two children and she had spoken with several South Sudanese community leaders.
“I told them that we mourn with them following the loss of two children in a shocking and violent killing,” she said.
“I told them we stand with them in their fight against the cancer of youth gang crime that is breaking their community’s heart.”
Allan also called a meeting with members of the South Sudanese Australian Youth Justice Expert Working Group.
“These meetings will take place in the community – and the Minister for Youth Justice, the Minister for Police and Victims, and Victoria Police representatives will join,” she said.
“The solutions to the fight against violent crime can’t just be imposed upon the community. They must come from the community.
“We will stand with them every step of the way to put an end to this scourge.”
Chol Achiek, 12 (left) and Dau Akueng, 15 (right) were both killed while walking home on Saturday night. Credit: 7NEWS
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The local community of Cobblebank will come together to mourn the deaths of a 12-year-old and 15-year-old boy who were fatally stabbed on their way home from a basketball game.
The local community of Cobblebank will come together to mourn the deaths of a 12-year-old and 15-year-old boy who were fatally stabbed on their way home from a basketball game.