Two men have been charged with murder after a fatal stabbing in the heart of the Gold Coast tourist strip overnight, prompting an appeal from a senior detective about the number of young people carrying knives.
Police allege a fight broke out between 27-year-old Raymond Harris and a group of men on Cavill Avenue near Orchid Avenue in Surfers Paradise around 9:00pm.
Mr Harris, from Logan, was stabbed in the torso.
He was taken to hospital, but died a short time later.
Police arrested two men, Jarod James Miller, 21, from Tinana, near Maryborough and Jye Sebastian Webb Italia, 18, from Pimpama.
Police said another two men were also assisting police with inquiries.
Mr Miller has appeared in the Southport Magistrates Court charged with murder and assault.
Mr Italia is facing the same charges but is yet to appear in court.
Detective Superintendent Brendan Smith said it was a tragic incident.
"Prior to the actual incident, there was a bit of an altercation between the victim and the offenders," he said.
"Inquiries at this point would indicate there's been an ongoing issue between those two groups over the last few days."
He said police were still looking for two other men they believed were involved in the incident.
'No excuse for having these knives'
Detective Superintendent Smith said there had been a disturbing spike in knife crimes on the Gold Coast "over the last week or so".
"It doesn't seem to be sinking in — what do we have to say to our young people that this is enough, they've got to stop carrying knives," he said.
"These knives aren't your run-of-the-mill kitchen knives, these are hunting knives or, a colloquial term, you'd call them a Rambo knife.
"There is no excuse for having these knives."
Detective Superintendent Smith said he did not believe the carrying of knives was related to gang activity.
"It's a generational issue … the youth today for some reason they think it's cool to have their gangster attitude and they carry knives," he said.
Police said after Mr Harris was stabbed, the group went into the gaming room of a local hotel and assaulted Mr Harris's friends.
Police are reviewing CCTV vision of Cavill Avenue, and have appealed for witnesses who may have seen or filmed the fatal attack to come forward.
