Police are hunting up to eight masked gang members after two innocent boys were brutally murdered in what detectives believe was a tragic case of mistaken identity.

Police allege as many as eight masked men, believed to be gang members with machetes, are responsible for the deaths of the two boys overnight in what they call a likely case of “mistaken identity”.

Victoria Police homicide detectives remain on the scene at two addresses approximately 200m apart in Cobblebank, 33km from the CBD, where a 12-year-old boy and a 15-year-old boy were killed in a suspected youth gang attack on Saturday night.

The youngest victim had been stabbed to death and was found at a house on Marble Drive.

The teen victim sustained “horrific mutilation injuries” and was found dead at a nearby address on Cobble Street.

It’s understood that a hand of at least one of the boys was cut off.

According to the family, the boys were among a group of friends returning home from a local basketball stadium.

Police descended on the two addresses around 8pm on Saturday and cordoned off the street.

They arrived on Marble Drive to find a 12-year-old male with critical injuries and started CPR, but the boy died at the scene, police confirmed.

A short time later, police responded to reports of another boy who was seriously injured nearby on Cobble Street.

Treatment was given to the 15-year-old male, but he also died at the scene.

Detective Inspector Graham Banks told a press conference this afternoon that the grisly attack “has the hallmarks of a youth gang crime.”

“Witness and CCTV vision shows that these murders were committed by a large group of male offenders who appear to be covered with face masks,” he said.

“They fled the scene in a vehicle that’s yet to be identified, and vision shows that they were armed with machetes and long-edged weapons.

“It is one of the most horrific crimes in a substantial and growing list of crimes of this nature.

“The children who were murdered were not gang members, and it is not OK to remain silent.”

Insp Banks addressed earlier statements by police that the attack was “targeted”.

“When we see crimes of this nature sometimes occur, and there’s been some very, very brutal murders of this nature, there have been occasions where people have been targeted by mistaken identity.

“There is potential that the offenders know these people, and they’ve been specifically targeted as well. But it’s also clearly the possibility that there’s been a mistaken identity and that this is what’s occurred.”

Insp Banks said police were still trying to track down the group responsible, stating he believed the majority of the suspects were aged between 16 and 24 years old.

Speaking more broadly on a perceived spike in youth crime in Victoria, he said, “the overarching behaviour and culture of gangs has been consistent and growing”.

“What we unfortunately see is that a lot of these people get older, they get into the adult system, they interact with more significant organised crime offenders, and then they still have connections back into the youth gang crime space,” Insp Banks said.

“So it’s a very complex set of circumstances.”

Neighbours have recounted the moment a 12-year-old boy begged for help before he and another child were found dead at separate crime scenes, believed to be linked, in Melbourne.

A heartbroken father has arrived at the scene of his child’s death, defiantly pleading for justice.

“He is a basketball player, not a criminal,” he told reporters.

The resident revealed she was with paramedics when they received a call about the second victim.

“There was this blood curdling scream as the mother arrived,” she said.

Another neighbour said their CCTV security footage captured the moment the 12-year-old boy was allegedly attacked by three people.

The neighbour stated that the incident was brief before the trio fled the scene.

‘Enough is enough’: Opposition erupts

Leader of the Opposition Brad Battin told the Herald Sun that Saturday night’s attacks were the “tragic outcome of the crime crisis in Victoria”.

“Too many Victorians have been victims of crime. Last night, two more Victorians were tragically added to that tally,” he said.

“When we talk about the crime crisis, we can never lose sight of its human cost. These are not just statistics, they represent lives lost, families shattered, and communities forever changed.”

Liberal MP Moira Deeming, a staunch critic of the Victorian Government’s handling of youth crime, said she was “sad but not surprised” by the events.

“Enough is enough,” she declared.

Sam Rae, Aged Care minister whose division of Hawke includes Cobblebank, told Sky News’ Sunday Agenda: “This has been a harrowing night for my community, these are incredibly distressing reports that have emerged.

“We’ve seemingly lost two children overnight.

“My job at this point is to support those families, support my community and to support the police to do their job in ensuring that we get justice for this heinous crime.”