Boy who filmed himself shooting victim, 61, during seven-minute home invasion boasted on Snapchat about ‘getting paid’ – now he faces adult prison after landmark ruling
A Melbourne teenager filmed himself shooting a defenceless victim after stabbing him multiple times during a horror home invasion in the city’s north-west.
The brutality of the Gladstone Park attack last year marked a grim new low in Victoria’s escalating home invasion crisis, intensifying pressure on the Allan government to confront a crime wave that had already sparked fierce public debate and drawn repeated criticism from high-profile figures including Bec Judd.
The teen, who cannot be named for legal reasons, is now one of the first minors to be transferred from the Children’s Court to the serious crimes division of the Melbourne County Court.
A new law allowing children to be prosecuted as adults for violent offences was announced in November last year, passed parliament in December, and came into effect in February.
The now 18-year-old offender was 17 when he and his associates stormed a Trentham Drive home at about 1.20am on July 24, 2025, threatening to shoot the occupants’ pet dog.
The County Court heard the disturbing details of the invasion, which shocked the state after the teen and fellow attacker Anthony Taban, 19, pleaded guilty to aggravated home invasion.
The teen, who was on bail at the time, now faces a sentence of up to 25 years in adult prison – rather than the lighter penalty he would have received in the Children’s Court.
The court heard the teen, Taban, and two others – one armed with a knife, another with a hammer – tried and failed to force entry through the front door, then entered the home via a rear sliding door.
The thugs stormed the Gladstone Park home in July 2025
The teen filmed his attack on the victim
A fifth man armed with a gun remained outside while another waited in the stolen getaway car.
Inside, the teen – carrying a handgun – and his accomplices woke Kemal Akbulut and his cousin Birsel Akbulut.
The court heard Mr Akbulut ‘immediately fell to his knees and put up his hands in an attempt to placate the offenders’.
Ms Akbulut ran out the back door, but was confronted by the man standing guard, who pointed a handgun at her and said, ‘Where is he?’
Prosecutors said the thugs were hunting Ibrahim El Sayah, also known as ‘Ibby’, who was in a relationship with Hazel Akbulut.
Ms Akbulut told the armed man she didn’t know where Ibby was, so he threatened to shoot her dog.
Back inside, the men stabbed, shot and bashed Kemal Akbulut.
‘Please don’t, take anything you want, just don’t touch us,’ the terrified woman pleaded.
The men stabbed, shot and bashed victim Kemal Akbulut
Mr Akbulut was repeatedly attacked with a hammer
Influencer Bec Judd has been outspoken about Melbourne’s violent crime wave
The teen attempted to fire a gun at the victim multiple times
The teen pointed the gun at Mr Akbulut while the hammer-wielding thug bashed him from behind.
Mr Akbulut ‘immediately fell to the ground’, where the attacker struck him three more times with the hammer.
The 61-year-old victim was then moved to another room, where the teen shot him in the forearm.
CCTV captured both the shooting and the teen filming the brutal attack on his mobile phone.
Footage was later leaked onto social media and was widely circulated.
Another assailant stabbed Mr Akbulut, who tried to pull a table over himself for protection.
The man with the hammer kicked and struck him while he cowered defenceless on the floor. The stabbing continued, and the other thug kept hitting him with the hammer.
The teen said, ‘This is what happens if you fuck with us,’ pointing his gun at Mr Akbulut and pulling the trigger – but it failed to fire.
The teen demanded money as the other thugs continued beating and stabbing the victim.
Mr Akbulut was subjected to repeated attacks with a hammer. The gun was pointed at him again, and the trigger pulled, but it once more failed to discharge.
Taban kicked Mr Akbulut before the group again demanded money.
Mr Akbulut pleaded with his attackers, promising he would do what they wanted.
The teenager again pointed the gun at him, but it failed to fire.
The court heard the teen continued to film the violence before grabbing the knife himself and slashing Mr Akbulut multiple times.
He then handed the knife back to another offender and filmed as his associate stabbed the victim several more times.
Taban kicked Mr Akbulut once again, while another thug hit him with the hammer.
Meanwhile, the group prowled the house, looking for valuables. The teen yet again pointed his gun at Mr Akbulut – but again, it failed to fire.
Taban, then 18, stole an Omega watch, several bags, earbuds, a wallet and $60. Another offender loaded stolen goods into a car parked out front, which belonged to one of the assailants’ mothers.
The thugs then fled, leaving Mr Akbulut bloodied and badly injured on the floor.
The court heard the ordeal lasted just seven minutes, during which the gang repeatedly asked the victim where ‘Ibby’ was.
A police officer living nearby heard loud bangs, ran to the scene and saw the offenders escaping in a stolen SUV while his wife called triple-0.
First responders arrived at about 1.40am and found Mr Akbulut lying on the ground, covered in blood and visibly in agony.
The teen later torched the stolen SUV at Mount Cottrell about 11.45am the same morning, before fleeing with the group in a stolen BMW X5.
CCTV captured the mother who owned the getaway vehicle cleaning its interior just after 9.30am before taking her younger children to school.
Ms Akbulut suffered significant mental trauma and required admission to a mental health facility. Mr Akbulut sustained serious injuries, having been stabbed 13 times, shot and struck repeatedly with a hammer.
A doctor said some of Mr Akbulut’s injuries may take months to heal, if they heal at all, and he is likely to suffer ongoing psychological problems as a result of the attack.
Investigators found bullets, bullet fragments, blood-stained clothing and a large amount of blood on the floor at the Gladstone Park home.
A detective concluded the spent cartridges were 9mm Luger calibre and the magazine belonged to a Mauser ‘Broomhandle’ semi-automatic pistol.
Police arrested one suspect as he approached the stolen BMW X5 the day after the home invasion.
Further arrests followed, using CCTV, phone data and clothing evidence to track down gang members.
Taban was arrested at his Tarneit home on August 20, while the teen, who lived in Mill Park, was arrested interstate after fleeing to Queensland.
Other members were arrested in Tarneit and Meadow Heights.
Police found messages on Taban’s phones in which the attackers discussed videos of the crime. One asked Taban for ‘vids of the game’ but he replied, ‘Na Bruh’.
Police, who discovered eight videos depicting the attack on Taban’s phone, also found a Snapchat message from the teen stating: ‘Where’s the vids… we need that to get paid.’
The teen and Taban, who have also pleaded guilty to intentionally causing serious injury in circumstances of gross violence, will face court again at a later date.
