Mum leads charge in fight for Jack's Law in Victoria after two boys killed in horrifying machete attack

Exclusive: Victorian mum Aimee Henderson's life has been touched, like many, by the knife crime crisis gripping the state.

Her daughter attended daycare in Melton with 12-year-old Chol Achiek, who was killed alongside Dau Akueng, 15, in a brutal machete attack in Melbourne's west on Saturday.

Chol and Dau's deaths broke Henderson's heart as she watched her daughter, also 12, innocently dance around in the kitchen at home.

READ MORE: Danielle was given just months to live. Then came a glimmer of hope

"I thought, 'Oh my God, this could happen to her," Henderson told 9news.com.au.

"What kind of threat would a 12-year-old be to eight men? Chol was just a little boy."

Chol, Dau and a third friend were set upon by a group of up to eight men in Cobblebank while walking from a bus stop.

They both died at the scene.

Nobody has been charged over Chol and Dau's deaths.

READ MORE: Perth woman's nightmare after discovering $147k super had been drained

Several other teenagers in Henderson's community have been hurt or killed by knives, including 16-year-old Oscar Hamilton who was allegedly fatally stabbed by a teenage boy at a shopping centre in 2024.

She has attended two funerals, including Oscar's, over the past year for young people who have been victims of knife crime.

A devastated Henderson said she wants to help bring an important piece of legislation to Victoria to stop other families from experiencing this tragedy.

She has led the charge in petitioning the Victorian government to enshrine Jack's Law on Change.org.

The law would give police the power to conduct random wanding searches for knives and other weapons in high-risk public places, like shopping centres.

Jack's Law is named after 17-year-old Jack Beasley, who was fatally stabbed in 2019 during a night out with friends in Surfers Paradise.

It was made law in Queensland this year after a trial beginning in 2023 removed over 900 weapons off the streets.

Since his death, his parents, Brett and Belinda Beasley, have advocated for the new laws.

"Every day we live with the pain of losing Jack," Mr Beasley said in June.

"But knowing that his legacy is helping save lives and spare other families from that pain gives us strength."

Do you have a story? Contact reporter April Glover at april.glover@nine.com.au

If Jack's Law successfully gets even one knife off the streets in Victoria, Henderson said, it will be a win.

"They've got the template to start it," she explained.

"If we did it tomorrow, we'd be in a 10-times better place than we are today."

Henderson said she and other parents in Melbourne and greater Victoria are terrified about their own children.

When her son visits the city to see his friends, she begs him to stay inside and "please don't go out".

She knows the problem doesn't only lie with the weapons getting into the wrong hands.

But Henderson, and over 8000 others who have signed her petition, think Jack's Law is desperately needed.

"We can cut and paste Queensland's laws and into Victoria and get it going," she said.

"Queensland acted. It's time Victoria did too.

"We can work on the other stuff later, but get something happening now."

Henderson began the petition in June but has seen thousands more join her rally cry since Saturday's tragic attack.

Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan has not ruled out implementing Jack's Law after saying she was weighing up giving police more powers.

The state government recently enacted a Victoria-wide machete ban, with the knives now classified as a "prohibited weapon" under new legislation.

Henderson believes Jack's Law would be much more effective.

She hopes Allan will listen to over 8000 Victorians.

"I'm not an expert, just a mum from the suburbs," Henderson added.

"But I'm told that if I hit 10,000 digital signatures, they have to debate it."

A paper petition which gathers more than 2000 signatures or an e-petition which collects more than 10,000 signatures is debated in Victorian parliament.

DOWNLOAD THE 9NEWS APP: Stay across all the latest in breaking news, sport, politics and the weather via our news app and get notifications sent straight to your smartphone. Available on the Apple App Store and Google Play.