The brother of a rapper gunned down outside a Melbourne nightclub has hit out at the “false narrative” surrounding the shooting and the way some community leaders have handled the attack.
The man aged in his 20s was found with gunshot wounds on Langford Street in North Melbourne about 3.15am on Saturday. He died at the scene.
Family members have identified him as Pal Bidong.
His brother Nyot Bidong said claims of gang links were incorrect and he did not believe there was any risk of violent retaliation.
“I shut down any and all rumours related to the gang stuff,” Bidong told ABC Radio on Monday.
“It is a stereotype, we’ve got a history as African people in this country as being labelled as too violent and all that sort of stuff, even though it’s just a small percentage of Africans.”
He said some community leaders who had spoken out in the days since his brother’s death had “no insight” into the matter.
“Police are just going off the base of what community leaders are putting out there … they’ve got no insight into what has actually happened,” Bidong said.
“I am a bit frustrated with community leaders and a false narrative.”
The shooter remains on the run, with police yet to reveal anything about the suspect, and no arrests have been made.
Bidong said he was with his brother in the lead-up to the shooting and had just driven away from the nightclub when he received a call telling him to come back.
He described his brother as a loving and caring son, brother and uncle who was the backbone of their family.
“He was someone that everyone looked up to, he was someone that everyone sort of depended on,” Bidong said. “Whenever times were rough everyone would sort of go to him and he was the one who kept our family together.”
Det Act Insp Alan Rumble said people had been making their way home from venues in the semi-industrial area at the time of the shooting.
“Our real goal here … is to follow down, identify all avenues of inquiry, investigate those and ensure the family of the victim are supported at this horrible time,” he said on Saturday.
It is not known how many shots were fired.
The crime scene is close to a train station, a major road, warehouses and a creek. Extra officers have been patrolling the area since the shooting.
Police have called on anyone who saw what happened or has information to contact investigators.
