Melbourne schoolboy burnt in botched arson received orders on WhatsApp
A 13-year-old boy is in critical condition after being severely burned during an alleged arson attack in Melbourne. Police believe the youth and his accomplices were recruited via WhatsApp by middlemen to target the property.
Why it matters
The incident underscores the growing concern over organized criminal groups using social media and encrypted messaging to recruit minors for violent acts.
A 13-year-old boy is fighting for life being burned during the incident in Taylors Hill on Monday. ( ABC News )
Young people who allegedly carried out a firebombing at a house in Melbourne's north-west were tasked with targeting the address by middlemen who contacted them on WhatsApp.
One teenager is still fighting for life in hospital after being engulfed in flames when two cars were set alight in Taylors Hill.
The ABC understands police will use phone data to investigate the car fire.
Link copied Share Share article A schoolboy is fighting for life after setting himself alight in a botched alleged arson attack received his orders via WhatsApp, the ABC can reveal.
Vision shows two other people leaving the 13-year-old boy for dead after two vehicles were set alight on Woolwich Way in Taylors Hill , in Melbourne's north-west, on Monday morning.
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