On a warm Saturday night in early January, 16-year-old Ater “Elia” Good told his father he was stepping out to pick up some pizza for dinner.
He would never return home.
Elia was shot dead metres from his house. His father, Philip Good, was one of the first people on the scene.
“They shot my son … I need justice,” he told 7.30.
Phillip Good says his son Elia had no enemies. (ABC News)
Mr Good says his son was a popular boy who loved basketball and had no enemies.
Police, however, allege his death was no random act.
Four men have been charged with murder. Investigators claim Elia was ambushed in a targeted attack linked to an escalating feud between rival youth gangs.
“On the 3rd of January we saw in Fitzroy a youth gang-involved homicide, where a young person, a gang member, it will be alleged, was gunned down,” Deputy Commissioner Bob Hill said at a press conference.
Flowers left near the scene of the shooting in Fitzroy. (ABC News: Matthew Holmes)
Four days earlier a brawl between rival groups erupted on Lygon Street in Carlton, leaving two men seriously injured.
Police allege the same groups were involved in Elia’s killing.
Authorities say they are now monitoring 34 youth gangs across Victoria, involving more than 600 members.
Some of those groups, police allege, have begun posting about their activities online, taunting rivals and, in some cases, celebrating acts of violence.
Gangs taunting each other in raps online
On TikTok, videos posted by young people claiming gang affiliations show them rapping about violence on Melbourne’s streets.
Some of them reference real-world violence, including Elia’s death.
TikTok referencing Elia Good’s death. (Supplied)
“With these kinds of TikToks, it’s young people seeking validation, looking for notoriety and engaging in some of that performative offending,” Abraham Kuol told 7.30.
Last year Mr Kuol was named Victorian Australian of the Year for his work with at-risk children, some of them gang members.
In several clips online, rival groups trade lyrical taunts in what appear to be diss tracks, invoking specific suburbs and ongoing disputes known as “postcode beefs”.
“Some of these gangs have some really deep bonds. It’s young people who grew up together from the same backgrounds,” Mr Kuol said.
Youth worker Abraham Kuol says the key to keeping children out of gangs is helping them connect with mainstream society. (ABC News)
“[They] feel disconnected from mainstream Australia, just mainstream society, who lack opportunities.”
Mr Kuol says many gang members have begun creating drill music, which originated in Chicago in the early 2010s. It is a form of hip-hop characterised by confrontational lyrics about gang violence and street life.
“[I] wouldn’t necessarily say drill itself is the challenge, but it’s a subculture that encourages young people to engage in high-harm offences and more serious offences,” he said.
7.30 contacted Victoria Police about social media posts referencing Elia Good’s death and the Carlton brawl online.
A spokesperson said it “refused to comment on the presence of social media content in relation to the Fitzroy homicide or Carlton affray” because “both matters are before the court”.
Escalating violence tearing community apart
Dau Akueng, pictured, was killed last year. He was friends with Elia Good. (Supplied)
Elia’s death is not an isolated case.
Last year, 15-year-old Dau Akueng was ambushed and killed while walking home in Melbourne’s west.
Elia and Dau were friends.
“Dau and Elia [went] to school altogether at Sacred Heart,” Phillip Good said.
Elia Good’s father says his son was popular at school and had no enemies. (Supplied)
“Then we registered them in basketball, Collingwood basketball, and they’re playing all together in one team.”
Police don’t believe there is a connection between Elia’s and Dau’s deaths.
Mr Tat says more needs to be done to investigate the organised crime groups that are recruiting children.
Angelo Tat, Elia’s uncle, says police need to do more to investigate criminal groups recruiting children. (ABC News)
“The police should know who is behind this organised crime, to let our children kill themselves, to let other people come in [and] pollute to our community,” he said.
And as gang violence escalates, so does the weaponry.
Machetes were banned in Victoria last year. Now police say firearms are the growing concern.
Deputy Commissioner Bob Hill says police have been frustrated by repeat offenders in Victoria. (ABC News)
“We’re working closely with our Commonwealth partners and our other agencies to tackle that head-on,” Deputy Commissioner Bob Hill said.
Mr Kuol says the key to keeping children out of gangs is ongoing funding for community activities and events.
“It’s helping young people connect to mainstream society as early as possible, so that’s as simple as helping them stay engaged in school, helping them stay connected to our communities through sport, through faith and other activities,” he said.
Before he died, Elia Good revealed his life goals to his father.
“He told me the dream is … to be a lawyer and then basketball player.”
“But his dream [is] now cut in the middle because I don’t know, really, why the kill,” Mr Good said.Contact 7.30
Do you know more about this story? Get in touch with 7.30 here.