Superintendent Sheridan Waldau speaking to reporters on Friday morning.Credit:Kate Geraghty
“We’ve had witnesses who tell us that there have been a number of males run from the scene along Chapel Road and potentially into Myers Street. We have a blood trail in that area and there’s an extensive crime scene along those two streets.”
Police were “not getting a great deal of assistance” from those they have managed to speak to,she said.
Asked if the fight could have been gang-related,Waldau said there is “no evidence to suggest it’s related to any specific crime,but we do not believe it’s a random attack”.
The groups involved are believed to be known to each other,“but in what circumstances they were known to each other we don’t know yet”,she said,adding that it’s too early to know whether the fight was pre-arranged.
The victim was “not adversely known to police”,she said.
Waldau said the park is “very much a family-orientated park” and not a local crime spot.
But residents along Myers Street said the park becomes a haunt for young people at night who make a lot of noise and frequently get into altercations. “They need cameras there and cut all the trees to minimise fights,” Scara said.
Another resident who lives opposite the park said he heard yelling,but thought it was just the usual noise from young people hanging out at the park,playing basketball and showing off their cars.
“We hear these kids over here with their hotted cars and the next street is a local drag strip. We’re used to the noise,we ignore it.”
Police seized two cars for examination on Friday morning. Waldau urged anyone who witnessed the brawl or who might have footage,including dash cam footage,to come forward and assist police.
“We know there were a number of people at the location who may have been involved in the incident and that they know what happened,” she said.
“It’s very shocking,it’s a tragic event. We have a 24-year-old very young man who is deceased. It obviously has major impacts on his family and friends,and we want to know the reasons why this happened.”
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