Melbourne shopkeeper dies after confronting suspected shoplifters

A 60-year-old Asian grocery store owner in Melbourne's west has died after being attacked while intervening in an apparent shoplifting incident, police confirmed.

Van Viet Truong, who ran the Hống Hưng Asian Grocery on Hampshire Road in Sunshine, suffered critical injuries on Saturday when he rushed to assist a fellow retail worker trying to stop a group from stealing clothes. He was taken to hospital but died on Wednesday afternoon.

By Thursday, floral tributes had been placed outside the store, which has been a fixture on the street for more than two decades. A note on the roller door said the business would be closed until further notice because of a family emergency.

Local business owners expressed shock and grief. Julie Tran, who runs the nearby Vietnamese restaurant Thuận An, described Truong as a genuinely friendly person who always greeted others with a smile. She said he ran the shop with his wife and mother-in-law, and the three were always there together. For Tran, who has worked in the area for 18 years, the shopping strip has increasingly become a place of crime and antisocial behaviour.

Police charged three boys aged 12, 13 and 15, and two girls aged 14, with offences including affray, violent disorder and intentionally causing serious injury. The charge against the 13-year-old has been withdrawn, while the other four have been remanded to appear in a children's court. Detectives will now consider whether to upgrade the charges in light of Truong's death.

Tran and other traders have repeatedly asked the council and state government for help to address rising crime and mental health issues. She told AAP that authorities could have acted earlier — "it didn't have to take a person to die for them to actually try to push for this further." Recent statistics show crime in the Brimbank council area is at its highest level in six years and about 9% higher than the state average.

On Wednesday, Laverton MP Sarah Connolly and the new police minister, Paul Edbrooke, met with traders to hear their concerns. Brimbank mayor Virginia Tachos called Truong a pillar of the community and said the council would keep lobbying for a sustained increase in police numbers. Traders fear that round-the-clock patrols introduced after the attack may only be a temporary measure.