‘It’s just not true’: Victoria Police says Laa Chol’s tragic death was not the result of gang violence

The head of Victoria Police’s African-Australian community taskforce has vehemently denied the tragic death of Laa Chol over the weekend was the result of gang violence.

The 19-year-old woman was stabbed to death following an altercation between two groups of African-Australians at a short stay apartment in the CBD in the early hours of Saturday morning.

Commander Stuart Bateson, the head of the African-Australian community taskforce, told Neil Mitchell Ms Chol was not a member of a gang.

“It’s not related to ethnicity, we’ve seen murders occur in similar circumstances ever since I’ve been in the police force,” he said.

“This is not to do with warring factions.

“The suggestion that Laa Chol, the victim, was a member of a gang just not true.”

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“A young woman is dead and her family are grieving,” Neil said.

“We have to take the politics out of it.

“What Peter Dutton has said overnight is just wrong.”