A teenager has died after being found with a knife protruding from his body and multiple stab wounds at a popular Melbourne beach.
The terrifying scenes played out on Sunday as beachgoers enjoyed the city’s warmest day of the year since January.
Emergency services were called to St Kilda beach just after 7.30pm following reports of people fighting.
An 18-year-old was found on the beach near Pier Road suffering from multiple stab wounds, with at least one of the knives used in the attack still protruded from his body, police allege
The Tarneit teen was rushed to hospital but later died.
He has yet to be formally identified.
Those believed to be responsible had fled the scene when police arrived.
Police are still investigating the circumstances surrounding the incident.
CCTV footage will be used as part of the investigation.
There were also multiple witnesses in the area at the time.
A witness told the Herald Sun police were quick to swarm the area.
“There were cops everywhere. It was crazy.”
Tarneit teenager Hashim Mohamed had only had his driver’s licence for two days and was dreaming of starting his own business when his life was cut short during a fight at St Kilda foreshore.
Emergency services were called to St Kilda beach about 7.30pm on Sunday following reports of two groups of young males brawling near the foreshore.
Mohamed was found unresponsive with stab wounds at the popular beach near Pier Road and taken by ambulance to The Alfred hospital, where he later died.
His older brother Hanad told The Age news of the teenager’s death had come as a shock for the family, who were all together at home when police rang to notify them of the incident.
“It was very, very stressful,” he said. “Luckily, there was a lot of community support. A lot of my mum’s friends and aunties, close friends and relatives were at the hospital to support my mum, and are still here right now.”
Hanad remembered Mohamed as a social and entrepreneurial young man, who loved spending time with his friends and dreamed of owning his own business in the future.
The teenager had passed his driving exam two days before the stabbing and was looking forward to finding work while he figured out what he wanted to study.
“Mum was very proud of him,” he said. “He had always wanted to be an entrepreneur. He had that kind of mindset.”
A St Kilda resident told the ABC he saw groups of people fighting and running away from the area, which was heaving with people celebrating the first weekend of summer, before police arrived.
Homicide squad Detective Acting Inspector Nigel L’Estrange said members of the public witnessed the attack and rushed to provide first aid to Mohamed.
“We believe the incident was the result of a fight between approximately five to six African males, and there are a number of knives involved in this incident,” L’Estrange said.
Police have spoken to a number of witnesses, but are yet to identify any people of interest.
L’Estrange said there was no evidence to conclude gangs were involved in the violence, but it was one of the avenues investigators were exploring.
He would not comment on the type of knife used in the stabbing but confirmed police had recovered the weapon from the body of Mohamed.
The attack could have been captured by mobile close-circuit cameras installed in the area as part of Operation Summersafe.
The initiative, which will see a bolstered police presence at key coastal spots throughout summer to tackle excess drinking, drug use and anti-social behaviour, started on Friday.
Police are now combing the footage to identify the alleged attackers, who were spotted running north near Jacka Boulevard.