Almost a week after the stabbing death of a grandmother, there are increasing calls to step up security and stamp out racial abuse.
Brisbane woman, 70-year-old Vyleen White, was fatally stabbed at Ipswich’s Redbank Plains shopping centre in front of her six-year-old granddaughter on Saturday.
Five boys, aged 15 and 16, have been criminally charged. One 16-year-old is charged with murder.
Ms. White was stabbed as the group stole her Hyundai Getz, police allege.
Redbank Plains community members, led by independent candidate in the upcoming Ipswich City Council election, Josh Addison, have called for a greater police presence in the area.
Mr. Addison said a permanent police beat was needed at Redbank Plains.
“We want to make sure our law enforcement is resourced and funded so they can protect us and people in our community can do what they’re meant to do, which is live in our community peacefully,” he told reporters on Feb. 9.
Queensland African Communities Council president Beny Bol says there’s been a rise in hostility toward the Australian-African community since the incident.
Ms. White’s daughter Cindy Micallef joined Mr. Bol on Feb. 8, calling for racial abuse to stop.
“Mum’s legacy will live on in peace,” Ms. Micallef said.
“She was never one to be prejudiced, she always looked for the best in people.”
Mr. Addison said Ms. White’s stabbing should not be made about race as he continued calls for a greater police presence.
“We need to focus our efforts on calling on the government to actually step up ... pull their finger out and get to work,” he said.
“At the end of the day our community matters.”
Flowers and tributes have been growing at the scene of the shopping centre stabbing.
