Two children have been killed in a suspected targeted attack, with a father of one of the victims demanding answers.

The boys, a 12-year-old and 15-year-old, were fatally stabbed in the suburb of Cobblebank in Melbourne’s outer northwest on Saturday evening, police said.

The 12-year-old was found with critical injuries on Marble Drive about 8pm before a 15-year-old boy was also discovered seriously injured on nearby Cobble Street.

Both were treated at the scene but could not be saved.

Officers believe the stabbings are connected and targeted, although the investigation remains ongoing.

The 15-year-old victim has been named as Dau Akueng, whose father Elbino said his son and friends were attacked while walking home from a local basketball game.

The community had buried four children in the past month, Mr Akueng said.

“Similar incidents happening, there’s no answer from police,” he told reporters at the scene on Sunday morning.

An emotional Aboil Alor, a friend of the Akueng family, said the boys didn’t deserve to die.

“We needed justice especially for those children, 12 and 15 years old,” she said.

Federal Labor MP Sam Rae, who represents the local seat of Hawke, said it had been a harrowing night for the community after a “heinous crime”.

“We’ve lost two children from our community overnight,” he told Sky News.

“My job is to support the family, support the community and to support the police to bring justice for these kids.”

Senior Victorian minister Lily D’Ambrosio said she had not been briefed on the investigation but urged anyone with information to contact police.

“We’ve had two families’ lives pulled asunder,” she said.

“These are horrendous, despicable crimes.”

Victorian Opposition Leader Brad Battin said the deaths were a tragic outcome of the state’s “crime crisis”.

“Too many Victorians have been victims of crime,” he said in a statement.

“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.”