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Teen Boys Charged over Alleged Mistaken Identity Murder
Police allege the boys supplied a weapon and staged cars in the mistaken-identity shooting that killed a 23-year-old university student.
On Wednesday, detectives arrested two boys, aged 14 and 16, in Fairfield, charging them with the mistaken-identity murder of University of Technology Sydney student Marco Tapia.
Assailants fatally shot Tapia inside his Glen Alpine home on September 1 during an early morning home invasion; detectives later confirmed the wrong house was targeted.
Police allege the teenagers staged vehicles and provided weapons for the gunman before the shooting. Both were charged with murder, participating in a criminal group, and possessing an unauthorized prohibited firearm.
Recounting the "nightmare" attack in a Monday interview, parents Sergio and Claudia Tapia spoke out as the accused teens were refused bail for a Thursday children's court appearance.
Tapia's death was one of two suspected mistaken-identity shootings in Sydney within 48 hours, including the killing of tradesman Joshua Macdonald in Merrylands West. The violence, attributed to underworld tensions, sparked proposed organized crime reforms.