Police in Melbourne are investigating a possible connection between a drive-by shooting that left a Sudanese teenager dead and an African gang machete attack on two men days earlier.
Ater Good, 16, was shot dead by an unknown gunman in a silver SUV while walking through the inner-city suburb of Fitzroy just after midnight on Saturday, just metres from a police station.
Victoria Police are now looking at potential links between the fatal shooting and an attack by seven masked African thugs armed with machetes and knives on two other African men in Carlton on New Year’s Eve, the Herald Sun reported.
The Carlton incident left a 20-year-old from Heidelberg West and an 18-year-old from NSW, in hospital with serious injuries. Police are yet to make any arrests over either attack.
Video here (graphic warning):
CCTV footage of the African gang machete attack in Carlton, Melbourne, last night.
Two men are in hospital, seven are on the run.
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Ater’s friends posted tributes to him on social media after the drive-by attack along with photos of him wearing a balaclava and in a music video mourning the deaths of other African teenagers, while his family shared a GoFundMe and called his death an “unimaginable loss”.
“He was deeply loved by his family, cherished by his friends, and held a special place in the hearts of everyone who knew him. As the eldest son, he carried great meaning within our family and leaves behind many siblings who will forever feel his absence,” wrote his father Philip Good.
“His passing has left our hearts broken and our family grieving a loss that words cannot fully express.”
Ater was friends with 15-year-old Sudanese teenager, Dau Akueng, who was allegedly murdered by machete-wielding gang members in Cobblebank in the city’s west in September.
Mr Good told 7News Ater had gone out to get a pizza when he was shot dead, and said: “I need justice for my son.”
“I don’t know who these people kill my son and why they kill him,” he said.
Header image: Left, right, Ater Good (Instagram) Right the machete attack in Carlton (supplied).
