'HOW DID THIS HAPPEN?'

A MELBOURNE COMMUNITY IS LEFT IN FEAR FOLLOWING A VICIOUS ATTACK

- Kylie Walters

Dau Akueng had told his basketball coach that he would sometimes get scared walking from training to the bus stop.

Now, his friends all feel the same after the teen and his teammate were killed in a stabbing attack in Cobblebank, Victoria. Dau, 15, and Chol Achiek, 12, lost their lives on September 6. The boys were walking home along separate streets when they were each attacked by a masked gang carrying machetes and long-edge weapons.

Eight people aged between 15 and 19 have been charged over the lethal assaults.

The victims had no involvement with youth gangs at the time they were killed and police have said the alleged murders may have been a case of mistaken identity.