Hunt for teens after brothers stabbed during ambush

Two teenage brothers are recovering from serious stab wounds after they were allegedly ambushed by a group of machete-wielding boys on a suburban reserve.

Police believe the brothers, both 15, were taken to a park off Garretty Road in Caroline Springs, west of Melbourne, following an online argument.

Detectives said that on December 30, around 17.40, the children were attacked by a group in which at least one attacker was armed with a machete.

When the police arrived at the scene, two injured young people were found; One child had injuries to his face, and the other had serious cut wounds on his arm and back.

The couple, from the Melton area in Melbourne’s west, were taken to hospital with serious injuries.

Investigators discovered that a group of boys aged between 15 and 18 were walking in Caroline Springs shortly before the attack.

Police believe seven of the criminals arrived in the area in a black Ford Ranger with fake registration plate DRY685, which was parked near Boathouse Dive.

CCTV captured eight suspects leaving the area while the other three ran towards Lorimer Street at around 5.45pm.

The stabbing occurred a few suburbs from where 15-year-old Dau Akueng and his friend, 12-year-old Chol Achiek, were stabbed to death in September.

The incident reignited the debate over youth gang crime in the city after the pair were allegedly ambushed by a group on their way home from a local basketball game.

Eight teenagers have since been charged with the crime.

As Victoria remains at the center of its knife crime problem, Chief Constable Mike Bush says he is “absolutely aware” of the community’s concerns.

More than 15,000 knives, machetes and zombie knives will be taken off the streets and destroyed by 2025, he told reporters in November.

Incidents involving machetes have tripled between 2021 and 2024, with young men responsible for two-fifths of incidents, according to Crime Statistics Agency data.

Approximately 25,000 weapons were handed over during the machete amnesty, which ended on November 30.