Police shoot man dead during siege in Victoria
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Australian
33 minutes ago
- The Australian
Teen boys charged with murder after 21yo Luke Manassa stabbed to death at Pemulwuy, Sydney
Police are investigating whether a 21-year-old stabbed to death in the driveway of a home in Sydney's west was mistakenly targeted in a contract killing. Two boys, aged 16 and 17, have been charged with the murder of Luke Manassa at Pemulwuy on June 26. Officers were told two people wearing disguises and dark clothing attacked the 21-year-old when he and his girlfriend arrived at the Driftway Drive property, NSW Police say. Mr Manassa was able to get back into his car and drive a short distance before succumbing to his injuries. He could not be revived and died at the scene. Forensic police at the scene of a fatal stabbing that occurred on Driftway Drive at Pemulway in western Sydney. Picture: Richard Dobson Speaking to reporters on Friday morning, Detective Superintendent Joseph Doueihi said their investigation so far had not revealed why Mr Manassa would have been targeted. 'Investigations today have not identified a clear motive as to why someone would want to (allegedly) murder Luke – he is not known to the NSW Police Force,' he said. 'It perhaps (was) the wrong target … more than likely, this is a case of mistaken identity, but it's still early days before we can absolutely confirm that.' Superintendent Doueihi said police suspected the teenagers charged with Mr Manassa's murder may have been hired to carry out a killing, though it was unclear who may have arranged it or why. He described the attack as 'very amateurish' and said it lacked the evidence of planning typically seen in gang-related hits, including expensive getaway cars or firebombed vehicles. Mr Manassa did not live at the Pemulwuy home but was known to visit the property. Investigators are also considering whether the occupant of the home may have been the actual target. Luke Manassa, was 21, was killed in a stabbing at Pemulwuy on June 26. Police established Strike Force Hickety to investigate the alleged attack. Detectives raided properties in South Penrith, Mount Druitt, and Woodcroft at about 6am on Thursday. A 17-year-old boy was arrested in South Penrith. He has since been charged with murder and fail to comply with digital evidence access order direction. A 16-year-old boy was arrested in Mount Druitt and has also been charged with murder. Both teenagers were refused bail to appear in a children's court on Friday. Video shows police executing a search warrant on the Western Sydney property. Picture: NSW Police Police seized a vehicle they will allege was the getaway car in Woodcroft. Footage released by police shows officers knocking on a property door before entering, speaking with those inside. It also shows a red Kia SUV – the alleged getaway vehicle – being towed. Investigations are ongoing. Mr Manassa graduated from UTS last year and worked full-time as a project manager at his family's demolition business Mann Group, according to his LinkedIn profile. He described himself as a businessman in a podcast appearance, as per 7News. Several have paid tribute to the 21-year-old in the wake of his sudden death. Basketball club Inner West Bulls posted to social media on Monday: 'Our thoughts are with the Manassa family during this difficult time. A tribute posted to Instagram from his basketball team. Picture: Instagram 'We remember Luke not only for his talent, but for the kindness, energy, and brotherhood he brought to the team. 'He was a valued member of the Bulls – strong, kind, and respected by all who knew him. 'We will carry your memory on the court, always.' Our Lady of Lebanon Co-Cathedral said on Monday that commemorations would be held this week. 'With deep sorrow, we announce the passing into eternal life of Luke James Manassa from Blouza (Lebanon) who died in Sydney,' the notice read. 'May the souls of the faithful departed rest in peace.' More to come Robert White Cadet Robert got his start as an Editorial Assistant at the Daily Telegraph in 2024 before entering the Newscorp cadet program. With a background in history and law Robert has a passion for politics and crime reporting as well as telling meaningful stories. @white_robb73416 Robert White
SBS Australia
an hour ago
- SBS Australia
As ACT lifts the age of criminal responsibility to 14, where does the rest of Australia stand?
Children in the ACT can no longer be arrested, charged or sentenced under territory laws until they turn 14. Rather than facing charges, children will now be referred to therapeutic support services that will seek to address the root causes of their behaviour. Youths who commit serious crimes such as murder, serious violence and sexual offences will be exempt from the reforms, which took effect on 1 July and raised the age of criminal responsibility from its previous place of 10 years old. Other Australian jurisdictions have some of the lowest ages of criminal responsibility globally, falling well below international standards set by the United Nations. 'The ACT has looked at the evidence' Jonathan Hunyor of the Justice and Equity Centre said locking up 10-year-old children only worsens social problems. "The ACT has looked at the evidence, and the ACT is obviously serious about making their community safer because we know that locking up kids makes the community less safe," he said. "What locking up kids does is it cruels their chances, it takes them away from positive influences." Rather than helping kids build social capital, "what we do is place kids in a situation where they build criminal capital," Hunyor added. "They go to the university of crime, they get taught that they're criminals." 'Programs need to run inside communities, not prisons' Dr Faith Gordon, an Australian National University youth-justice researcher, said the ACT is now in line with "what international evidence has been telling us for years". Pointing to countries such as Norway, she notes that "big jumps in funding for programs that are run inside communities, not prisons" had led to "big drops in the number of children locked up". Here's where the rest of Australia stands when it comes to the age of criminal responsibility. Victoria Victoria raised its minimum age from 10 to 12 under the Youth Justice Bill passed in 2024 and has promised a formal review of a further rise to 14 in 2027. Tasmania The Tasmanian government will raise the minimum age of criminal responsibility from 10 to 14 years and will increase the minimum age of detention to 16 years by developing alternatives to detention for children aged 14 and 15 years. Implementation is expected be completed by July 2029. Northern Territory The Northern Territory briefly led the nation when it raised the age of criminal responsibility to 12 in 2023. A change of government reversed that decision in August 2024 and the minimum age is back to 10. NSW Australia's most-populous state has held the line at 10, despite medical and legal bodies urging change. A joint statement from Mental Health Carers NSW and BEING NSW this year renewed calls to match the ACT's standard. Queensland Queensland's Adult Crime, Adult Time laws, introduced at the end of 2024, kept the age at 10 and allow some serious offences by children to be dealt with in the adult system. South Australia Adelaide is consulting on whether to raise the age to 12 but has not drafted a bill. Western Australia Western Australia has also kept it at 10. Legal Aid WA confirms the age in its current guidance and the government has given no timetable for reform. The federal position The national minimum age is 10, but balanced by the safeguard principle of doli incapax, which requires prosecutors to prove a child aged 10 to 13 understood their actions were seriously wrong. In July 2024, then attorney-general Mark Dreyfus was asked about a national change at the National Press Club. He said the issue remained "under consideration" and argued it was less urgent for Canberra because "we have no children presently convicted of Commonwealth offences". Gordon said the "patchwork of legislation across the country is impractical and unfair". "A child in Canberra now gets health and family support. A child an hour away in NSW can still be taken to a police cell. We need a single national rule so every child, no matter where they live, has the same chance."
SBS Australia
an hour ago
- SBS Australia
Heartbroken but hoping for change: Kumanjayi Walker's family prepare for coroner's final report
Kumanjayi Walker was only 19 when he died on November 9, 2019, after former Northern Territory police officer Zachary Rolfe shot him three times at close range in his home community of Yuendumu. For more than five long years his family has fought for whatever justice they might be able to find. The coronial inquest into the teenager's death, beset by delays and extensions, has run for several years. As the family prepare for the Northern Territory's coroner to hand down her final report on Monday, they are calling for truth and accountability. Rolfe was charged with murder after the shooting but acquitted at trial. Over three years, the coronial inquest has heard hundreds of hours of evidence from Kumanjayi Walker's family, community members, Aboriginal leaders and police officers. His family said in a statement that the testimony has been heartbreaking and confronting, shining a light on the failings that contributed to Kumanjayi's death, including systemic racism throughout the ranks of NT Police , Zachary Rolfe's background and conduct on the night of the shooting. "The inquest testimony confirmed our family's belief that Rolfe is not a 'bad egg' in the NT Police force, but a symptom of a system that disregards and brutalises our people," they said. "Crucially, the inquest heard evidence backing a return to full community-control, stating what yapa (Aboriginal people) have always known: when we can self-determine our futures and self-govern our communities, our people are stronger, our outcomes are better, our culture thrives." Family spokesperson Samara Fernandez-Brown said the death of her cousin has devastated their family and the Warlpiri community. "We miss him and feel his loss deeply every single day, it will stain our country for generations to come," she said. 'The inquest into his death has been gruelling, shocking and devastating." Throughout the inquest, Kumanjayi's family and community have stood strong, showed up and listened to all the ways that he was failed, Ms Fernandez-Brown said. 'Racism killed Kumanjayi – racism from NT Police, the NT Government, from Zachary Rolfe, yet none of them have ever been held to account for Kumanjayi's death," she said. 'We are heartbroken and exhausted after many long years, but we are hoping change is coming. "We have faith that the truth will finally be told, and want to see real change so that we can finally start our healing." Senior Warlpiri Elder Ned Hargraves issued a request to Acting NT Police Commissioner Martin Dole. 'If the NT Police come to Yuendumu for the findings, we ask you this: come with no guns, and come with an intention to hear us and listen to us," he said. 'We are not interested in Martin Dole coming to Yuendumu just with empty words. "If he is just coming to say sorry he is not welcome - how many times have they said sorry and still harmed us?" During the inquest for Kumanjayi Walker Warlpiri people called for no more guns in the community. "If Dole comes with news of real change that would be different, if he said police would put down their guns like we wanted, yes, he would be welcome," Uncle Ned said. "But they are now giving out more guns to more police to shoot our people." Throughout the inquest Warlpiri families and communities have been calling for an independent police ombudsman; power returned to Yuendumu and Aboriginal communities through self-governance, self-determination and full community control; divestment from prisons and punitive policing, and investment in culturally safe, community-led alternatives; the banning of guns and an end to the excessive use of force and racially discriminatory policing and a reckoning with the NT's mass incarceration crisis, especially the systematic over-incarceration of Aboriginal people and criminalisation of children. Kumanjayi's family and community have travelled to Alice Springs courthouse for hearings since the inquest began in 2022. "While we have waited for these findings another young Warlpiri man, Kumanjayi White, was taken from us when he died in police custody in Alice Springs in May this year," their statement said. "This loss has left us heartbroken once again, but we are determined to keep fighting for justice for all our people. "The Coroner has heard our truth, she has come to our community, she has heard expert evidence, which supports our calls for change: changes which will establish a sense of hope for our people. "If the Coroner does not include these recommendations in her findings, we will feel heartbroken and utterly let down." The coronial inquest into Kumanjayi Walker's death began in September 2022. Coroner Elisabeth Armitage is due to hand down her final report on Country in Yuendumu on Monday.
