A 13-year-old boy has been charged with allegedly murdering a father-of-three who was stabbed twice while travelling home from work near Mount Druitt in Sydney.
The 36-year-old had stopped at the area near Mount Druitt Westfield and train station shortly before 9pm on Friday to speak to young people he recognised as family friends.
Police said he was concerned about how they would get home and had gone to withdraw cash from a nearby ATM when another group allegedly took offence to the conversation. The attack was witnessed by 12 other young people.
Mount Druitt Police Area Commander Darrin Batchelor described the killing as “absolutely senseless”.
“Another group of young people took offence to the conversation the 36-year-old male was having with those young people, and as a result of that, we now stand here with that 36-year-old murdered,” he said.
“In my 30-year career of policing, I find this absolutely senseless.”
Detectives used CCTV footage to identify the 13-year-old, who was arrested at Mount Druitt Police Station on Sunday night when he arrived to report under bail conditions relating to a separate offence.
Police said the boy was already allegedly in breach of bail when Friday’s attack took place. He has been charged with murder, breach of bail and an unrelated robbery offence.
Investigators are treating the stabbing as a random attack, saying the victim’s meeting with the group was a chance encounter.
A 16-year-old boy was arrested at his home in Cabramatta at about 8pm on Sunday and charged with being an accessory to murder. Police said they recovered the knife allegedly used in the killing from a drain outside his apartment in south-west Sydney.
Both boys remained in custody overnight before appearing in a children’s court on Monday.
Police said at least two other young people who were present during the attack were expected to be charged. Detectives know their identities and addresses and have urged them to surrender.
“We will say that they were allegedly involved in assault of the victim on Friday night, so those two individuals, who we know, we suggest they hand themselves in as soon as possible,” Mr Batchelor said.
The investigation is continuing, including inquiries into the circumstances surrounding the attack and whether there were any gangland links.
Blacktown Police Area Command Superintendent Brendan Gorman said the man was believed to have been known to police.
“It’s a horrendous incident, concerning for police,” he said.
