Friends pray for burned Melbourne schoolboy after botched alleged arson

A schoolboy fighting for life after setting himself alight in a botched alleged arson attack received his orders via WhatsApp, the ABC can reveal.

Vision shows two other people leaving the 13-year-old boy for dead after two vehicles were set alight on Woolwich Way in Taylors Hill, in Melbourne's north-west, on Monday morning.

The boy remains in a critical condition with severe burns to his upper and lower body.

The ABC can reveal the trio was tasked with targeting the address by middlemen who had communicated with one another using aliases on WhatsApp in the lead-up to the incident.

After allegedly setting the two cars on fire, the trio had attempted to flee the scene in an allegedly stolen car, but crashed it seconds later.

The two others then ran away, leaving the 13-year-old on fire behind.

Close friends of the boy, who attends a secondary school in Melbourne's northern suburbs, told the ABC they were praying he survived.

One friend, who cannot be named because they are underage, said: "He is a great guy. I felt alive with him."

Another friend told the ABC: "He is more than just a friend to us. He is someone who brought so much laughter and happiness to everyone around him.

"We have so many memories together that I'll always hold close to my heart and it would really be sad if we lose him.

"No one deserves that. He was a funny person with so much love for everyone around him."

"He was always making people laugh, even when nobody was expecting it," another close friend said.

"He was caring, loyal and always there for his mates.

"We're really worried about him. We're just hoping and praying that he pulls through."

It is understood phone data will be central to the police investigation into the arson, which is among a string of similar incidents across Melbourne over consecutive nights.

Multiple vehicles were torched in Springvale, Reservoir and Oakleigh East overnight.

Yesterday, homes in Balwyn North and Maidstone were damaged by fire, following arsons in Keilor and the Taylors Hill fire involving the 13-year-old.

The incident is not the first of its kind to leave Victorians with life-threatening or deadly burns.

Last month, a man in his 20s sustained what police described as "life-altering" burns while trying to torch a Melton tobacconist.

Another 52-year-old man spent almost six months in hospital before succumbing to his injuries after attacking a dessert bar in Chapel St.

Innocent woman Katie Tangey, 27, was killed when arsonists mistakenly targeted her brother's Truganina townhouse, where she had been house-sitting at the start of 2025.