Council flags are flying at half-mast in honour of a good Samaritan who died days after he was allegedly attacked by shoplifting youths outside a local shopping strip.
Van Viet Truong was critically injured after he rushed to the aid of a fellow retail worker trying to stop the group stealing clothes at Sunshine in Melbourne’s west on Saturday, police allege.
The Hống Hưng Asian Grocery store owner was taken to hospital but died on Wednesday afternoon, police confirmed on Thursday.
Floral tributes outside the Hampshire Road store, which has been a mainstay on the strip for more than two decades, were growing on Thursday afternoon as mourners stopped to pay their respects.
A note on the shop’s roller door said it would be closed until further notice due to an unexpected family emergency.
The ۶۰-year-old’s death has devastated local traders including Julie Tran, whose Vietnamese restaurant, Thuận An, is doors down from where the street scuffle unfolded.
“He was always really friendly to all the businesses. When we walked past his store he’d always say ‘hi’ and smile,” she told AAP.
“His wife and his mother-in-law were always there with him, it was the three of them constantly there running the store.”
A listing for the business to be sold was posted online in ۲۰۲۵.
Three boys aged ۱۲, ۱۳ and ۱۵ and two ۱۴-year-old girls were charged with a series of assault-related offences including affray, violent disorder and intentionally causing serious injury.
Charges against the ۱۳-year-old boy have since been withdrawn.
The four other youths were remanded to appear before a children’s court at a later date.
Detectives will consider upgrading charges following Truong’s death.
Traders have long called for help from the council and state government in addressing rising antisocial behaviour, crime and mental health concerns.
“They could have made a change. It didn’t have to take a person to die for them actually try to push for this further,” Tran said.
Since opening her restaurant ۱۸ years ago, Tran said the shopping strip has become a hub for crime and antisocial behaviour.
“We’re here to make a living. We shouldn’t have to be on edge every time we go to work,” she said.
Crime in the Brimbank council area is at its highest rate in six years and is almost ۹% higher than the Victorian average, recent Crime Statistics Agency figures show.
Traders fear round-the-clock police patrols in Melbourne’s west following the attack could be a short-term fix.
The Laverton MP, Sarah Connolly, and new police minister, Paul Edbrooke, met traders on Wednesday to hear their concerns.
Truong was described as a pillar of the community, a generous supporter and a kind friend by Brimbank mayor Virginia Tachos.
The council will continue to lobby the state government for a sustained increase in police numbers, Tachos said.
