North Melbourne machete attack: Boy undergoes surgery to save his hand after he was ambushed by a gang in late night confrontation
Machete attack in North Melbourne: Boy undergoes surgery to save his hand after being ambushed by gang during overnight clash
A teenage boy has spent more than 18 hours in surgery to try to save his hand after he was ambushed outside his home by a terrifying machete attack as his mother gave a harrowing update.
Shocked neighbors rushed to his aid after the 14-year-old boy was found bleeding on the ground outside his apartment block following an altercation with a group of men in North Melbourne’s Sutton Street late on Friday evening.
His alleged attackers are still on the run.
His mother was minutes away from home when she got the call that he had been attacked.
His hand was almost loose when she was reunited with her son in the ambulance shortly afterwards.
A mother (pictured) recalled the moment she received a call from her 14-year-old son saying he had just been attacked with a machete
βI saw him sitting in the ambulance and (his hand) was almost loose from his arm,β the woman said told 7News:
“There was blood everywhere.”
The boy was rushed to the Royal Melbourne Children’s Hospital to undergo emergency surgery.
It is not yet known whether doctors can save his hand or whether the damage is too catastrophic to repair.
Doctors have told the boy and his mother that even if his hand can be saved, he still has a long road to recovery ahead of him.
“I can’t imagine how he will feel when he wakes up,” his mother told reporters.
“He’s going to have to adapt to all these new ways of doing things he used to do so easily, something as innocent as playing a PlayStation.”
Her son was supposed to start a new school on Monday, but that will have to be postponed as he recovers in hospital.
Forensic investigators and SES crews searched the social housing block on Saturday for clues
It is understood the boy was with a friend when they allegedly had a disagreement with another group of men, one of whom pulled out a machete and attacked him before the group fled the scene.
His mother has pleaded for calm.
βHe called me and said, ‘Mom, I’m downstairs in an ambulance and my hand’s been cut off,’β she recalled.
“I feel numb in my heart… If he’s not a separate part of me, he’s a part of me.”
‘Now he’s in the hospital, for what? For some kids who thought they were cool for a moment, who thought they were part of a gang.β
‘No one deserves this.’
‘What kid carries a machete? I don’t even know where I could get one.’
The entrance to the unit complex in North Melbourne remained cordoned off on Saturday
Forensic experts, with the help of SES officers, searched for clues outside the block of social housing on Saturday.
A trail of blood was left for meters following the boy’s footsteps.
The boy’s alleged attackers remain on the run as detectives continue their investigation.
Anyone who witnessed the attack or has information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers.
The incident is the latest in a wave of youth crime in Victoria.
Data released in June showed that crime committed by young people aged 10 to 14 had risen by 44.6 per cent in the past 12 months.
A trail of blood showed the path the boy had taken as he searched for help