Charges have been upgraded to murder for 11 males, including nine boys, over the fatal stabbing of Melbourne teen Solomone Taufeulungaki.
As the murder charges were announced on Thursday, Victoria Police Assistant Commissioner Luke Cornelius said there's still work needed to "cut gangs off at their knees".
The nine boys, aged from 13 to 17, had previously been charged with offences including violent disorder and affray over the gang-related attack at Brimbank Shopping Centre in Melbourne's west on June 16.
Those charges were upgraded to murder on Thursday, police confirmed.
Six of the boys are from St Albans, while the other three live in Burnside Heights, Hoppers Crossing and Kings Park.
A 23-year-old Hoppers Crossing man and 20-year-old Sunshine man, who remain in custody, have also been charged with murder.
Victoria Police said the next court appearance over the matter is listed for next month.
Taufeulungaki, 15, died after being attacked with knives and baseball bats in the Deer Park shopping centre's car park.
In a bail hearing for one of the two 13-year-olds in June, the court heard a brawl broke out between rival "97" and "VB" gangs.
Police have been working with Pacific Islander community elders, multi-agency information sharing and specialised youth officers to combat youth street gangs.
"That community's feeling it," Mr Cornelius told reporters on Thursday.
"We're reaching out ... to provide ongoing support for that community and many other communities that have been traumatised by violence between and among kids."
He said cases of young people becoming involved in weapon-related violence were far too common, with police working to "cut gangs off at their knees and give kids other ways of finding their identity".
Fellow Assistant Commissioner Bob Hill said Thursday's development was testament to a police pledge to stamp out violent youth gang crime.
"Police understand the adverse impact these gangs have in the community, whether it's disputes between those groups or the high-harm offences they commit on members of the general public," he said.
Mr Hill noted Victoria Police had laid murder charges against 18 alleged offenders this week alone, including three in the case of Jarrad Lovison and another three over the death of Adrian Pacione.
"The real story is what sits behind each and every one of those deaths; families, friends and relatives on both sides of these activities are now without loved ones," he said.
"The constant in many of these deaths is the links to organised and gang-related crime, and the influence and organised nature of these networks cannot be overstated."
Australian Associated Press
