A 16-year-old boy has been charged with murder after two stabbings, one of which resulted in the death of another teenager, near a school in western Sydney on Friday.
Emergency services responded to reports that two teenagers had been stabbed near a school on Power Street in Doonside at about 3.40pm on Friday.
“What we know at this stage is that a bus has gone to the area, to a bus stop, a number of youths have got off that bus, a melee has taken place with some other youths” said Superintendent Paul Glinn, Blacktown police area command.
“Subsequently, an 18-year-old and 19-year-old youth from the local Doonside area sustained significant injuries.”
Glinn said someone picked up the two boys, intending to drive them to Blacktown hospital, but they ended up going to Blacktown police station.
The 18 year-old died at the scene, while the 19-year-old was taken to Westmead Hospital in a serious but stable condition.
“Attempts were made to treat the 18-year-old, but sadly that person succumbed to their injuries outside the police station,” he said.
Glinn said that he believed the 19-year-old was “currently in a satisfactory condition”.
A 16-year-old boy was arrested near the Doonside location overnight and taken to Mount Druitt Police Station, where he was charged with murder.
The boy was refused bail to appear at a children’s court on Saturday.
Police are investigating and have established crime scenes near the school and at the police station. They are appealing for anyone with footage of the incident or surrounding areas to come forward to police; as well as anyone who witnessed the incident or “people acting unusually” in the area.
Glinn said that as the investigation was ongoing and a charge had been laid, he could not divulge details of the alleged crime.
He would not confirm whether the attack was random or targeted, if the teenagers were known to each other or if they had any affiliations with gangs, though he said that was something that police would look into.
“One of the things that we will look at is whether there is any affiliation with any groups,” he said.
Glinn appeared to confirm that the two victims were brothers, answering a question from media about whether he had had a chance to chat to “the family of the brothers”.
“Yeah, there has been some interaction,” he said. “Obviously they have a priority at the moment which anyone can understand: losing a son and having another one seriously injured is obviously the priority and grieving. But yeah, there has been, engagement with them and that will continue in coming days.”
Glinn sought to reassure the community, saying that while the event was clearly alarming, it was not something that happened regularly and police would be deploying “significant policing resources, in and around the area over coming days and weeks”.
“People should be able to get on and off a bus without these types of incidents occurring,” he said. “With some enforcement with high visibility policing and some other support over coming days and weeks… I hope that the community can have confidence to go about their business in a safe way.”
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