The devastated parents of slain Melbourne teenager Solomone Taufeulungaki say they have forgiven his young attackers and have called for calm.
The 15-year old was allegedly attacked by a group of youths outside the Brimbank Shopping Centre at Deer Park, in Melbourne’s west, about 4pm on Tuesday.
The teenager died at the scene, and Victoria Police arrested six male youths nearby over the attack.
Solomone Taufeulungaki (right) was stabbed to death last night
Salome (left) and Atunaisa Taufeulungaki at the scene where hours earlier their son was killed. Mr Taufeulungaki said he needed to return to feel his son’s spirit. He said he forgave his son’s killers
Friends of Solomone continue to leave flowers at the crime scene. Many have broken down in tears
‘We don’t want any justice,’ Solomone’s mum Salome Taufeulungaki said tearfully.
‘We want our son back home … we don’t need any justice’
The mother’s call came amid fears the stabbing death could trigger a gang war on the streets, with the victim’s friends vowing to retaliate.
‘No revenge,’ Mrs Taufeulungaki said. ‘We do (forgive them). It’s a blessing. Dying is a blessing for our family.’
Solomone’s father Atunaisa Taufeulungaki said perhaps his deceased father in heaven needed his son too.
‘Everyone dies. We all die in a different situation. But our father in heaven needs us to come back,’ he said.
‘We feel sad (about) the situation … but that’s his plan.’
Solomone’s parents said their son had died just across the road from where they congregated at church.
‘Every Sunday my son comes to this church, but I believe that maybe every Sunday his spirit will join with us in this true church every Sunday,’ Mr Taufeulungaki said.
Solomone’s friends claim he was ‘jumped’ by a gang called ‘The Brotherhood’ – or simply ‘BH’ – who were allegedly carrying knives and baseball bats.
Both the victim and the alleged attackers reportedly went to Victoria University Secondary College in the nearby suburb of St Albans, and police and security were at the school gates on Wednesday morning and at the scene of the crime.
Mrs Taufeulungaki said the couple felt no animosity towards their son’s killer or their families.
‘We love them. Bless them,’ Mrs Taufeulungaki said.
‘We don’t know who their family is,’ Mr Taufeulungaki said. ‘But we love them. We send love to their parents … it’s their children’s choice. My belief is that’s the day heavenly father needs my son to come back.’
The couple said they did not get a chance to see Solomone last night before he was killed and felt compelled to come to the spot he died to pay their respects.
Salome (right) and Atunaisa Taufeulungaki (left) lay some flowers at a tree that has become a roadside memorial for their son
Police remain at the crime scene in cars and on horseback
Police at the scene of the alleged murder on Tuesday night.
‘He’s so humble, he’s funny,’ Mrs Taufeulungaki said of her son.
The couple returned to the car park where their son died in the hope of connecting with his spirit.
The pair could be seen crying over the blood-stained bitumen where a night earlier their son died.
They left a bunch of flowers beside a tree, which has become a roadside memorial to the popular teenager.
‘He said he feels the spirit of his son there,’ Solomone’s aunt Siu Alone said. ‘He wants the rest of his brothers to forgive.’
‘We need to send a message to all of the friends and the parents … I know it’s only the kids’ choice.’
Ms Alone said Solomone’s family gathered together last night on their knees to pray for his killers.
‘We know this is the devil,’ she said. ‘When they do bad things it’s not them … Satan. And we believe that and we need to help them and teach them to come back and be on the same page,’ she said.
Shattered friends of the dead teen continue to arrive at the scene where he died to lay flowers.
Sitiveni Atonio talks to media at the scene where a teenage boy was killed on Tueday night
Sitiveni Atonio said he believed Solomone was not the target of his killers but had been caught up in the fracas.
‘All I heard is it was about social media. Just made them wanna go out for him – the other guy,’ he said.
The youth said he believed the killers were all members of The Brotherhood gang.
‘All they wanna do is show how tough they are,’ he said. ‘They just think that being cool is the main reason they’re alive. They just need to know that they’re still little kids.’
‘It was a stupid act. They should have just done something else instead of knives and bats,’ he said. ‘It was stupid, it was dumb, it was ignorant.’
Sitiveni had attended at the scene last night when tensions were extreme.
‘I just couldn’t believe it. I was still in shock,’ he said.
‘With this generation everything is just about fighting. Killing,’ he said.
‘I sometimes wish it was me instead of him.’