An African man is in custody after a family dispute allegedly turned deadly at a public housing block in Melbourne.
Victoria Police were called to a unit in Ascot Vale at 4am on Saturday where they found a man suffering from stab wounds. He could not be saved and died at the scene.
A man of African appearance was arrested at the property and a crime scene was established, but no charges have been laid.
Detective Acting Inspector Andrew Foot said three people were involved in a fight at the government housing complex, 7 News reported.
“Three were involved, two got involved in a violent altercation and unfortunately one was stabbed,” he said.
“It was a family relationship but I am not prepared to go any further than that.”
Local residents said the area was ravaged by crime and said they avoided the social housing complex out of fear for their safety.
“People are off the rails around here,” one said describing the man’s death as a “waste of a life”.
“Around here there’s always trouble,” added another.
The death is the fourth allegedly fatal stabbing of this year alone.
Last month Sudanese man Timothy Leek was allegedly hacked to death by a group of other African men with machetes in Lyndhurst, and in February Congolese man Nathan Mwanza was allegedly stabbed to death at a bus stop in Wyndham Vale.
And in January Sudanese man Lino Atem was allegedly stabbed to death just 500 metres from where Mwanza was killed.
Header image: Left, a man being arrested at the scene. Right, police outside the public housing unit (7 News).
