Three people have been charged with murder, accused of killing a 14-year-old boy in Melbourne’s western suburbs last month.
Ethan Hoac was walking home from St Albans train station with two friends when an SUV approached them on June 26.
The car turned and struck the boy, before two people in face coverings armed with knives got out and allegedly attacked him.
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His friends were not hurt and managed to escape.
They called emergency services, but the 14-year-old died on the way to hospital.
On Saturday, detectives arrested an 18-year-old Tarneit man, a 17-year-old Wyndham Vale boy and a 17-year-old Deer Park boy over the incident.
They have since been charged with murder, with all expected to face a children’s court on Sunday.
Ethan was a year 9 student of Braybrook College.
His friends described him as a “heartwarming kid” who always “brought a smile to people’s faces”.
Homicide Squad Detective Inspector Dean Thomas said the boy’s death was heartbreaking.
“Incidents such as this really strike at the heart of our communities and the feeling of safety everyone is entitled to have,” Thomas said.
“Any death under circumstances like this is distressing, but to see someone so young and vulnerable robbed of his future in this way is completely heart-breaking.”
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