Chol Achiek, 12, and Dau Akeng, 15, died after being mobbed while walking home in Melbourne's outer northwest on Saturday night.
The pair were ambushed by up to eight masked males armed with machetes and other bladed weapons.
Another boy who was walking with them after the group watched a basketball game together managed to escape the suspected gang members, who remain at large.
Chol's father, Chuti Ngong, joined hundreds of mourners at a vigil near the site of his son's death in Cobblebank on Tuesday.
He urged the community to prevent further violence on the streets, pleading for "more protection for everybody".
"I lost a very important person in my life," he said.
"We are all human beings ... we all have blood, we all have pain. Let's take care of one another."
Victoria Police believe the attacks were targeted but neither of the boys were gang members.
Mourners held hands and lit candles in honour of the pair, standing in solidarity with their families.
One speaker said there should be no revenge and the whole world was "crying with us".
Vigil attendee Ajak Deng Chiengkou, a South Sudanese-Australian journalist and community safety advocate, said the emotional damage was especially heavy on the boys' friends and basketball teammates.
He said video circulating that captured Chol's final screams left families fearful, wondering "who might be next and when the violence will end".
"The outrage and anger are raw and real," he told AAP.
"Australia remains a good country, but what is unfolding among the youth cannot be ignored.Â
"It demands urgent attention from parents, elders, and the wider community. If we do not stand up now, more lives will be lost."
Victorian youths committed a record number of crimes in the year to March, jumping 18 per cent to the highest level since records began in 1993.
Current youth justice approaches were not working, the Centre for Multicultural Youth said.
The not-for-profit, which supports young people from migrant and refugee backgrounds, wants culturally responsive early intervention and prevention approaches to be prioritised.
"We believe we all have a shared responsibility to do everything in our power to prevent this from happening again," it said.
Melton City councillor Phillip Zada said the grieving families who spoke at the vigil showed bravery beyond words, noting they talked not of anger, but of love, forgiveness and care for one another.
"We cannot let the deaths of these boys, or others so senselessly taken, mean nothing," he said.
"Now is not the time for politics or point scoring."
Premier Jacinta Allan concedes her government must do more to combat youth gangs and crime, but won't be following the Northern Territory in legalising the public use of pepper spray.
The 12-month NT trial allows adults to buy, possess and use pepper spray for self-defence.
Victoria is also being pushed to follow Queensland and NSW by introducing Jack's Law, named after teen Jack Beasley who was fatally stabbed in Surfers Paradise in 2019.
The laws allow police to use wands to search for weapons in public places without a warrant in order to combat knife crime.
Ms Allan is seeking further advice, with Victorian police already able to search for weapons in designated areas without a warrant.
A state ban on machetes came into effect on September 1, with bins installed at police stations to allow people to dispose of the weapons.
About 500 machetes have since been collected from about half of the 45 disposal bins.
Opposition Leader Brad Battin is planning another meeting with Jack's father Brett Beasley, but he also wouldn't commit to implementing Jack's Law.
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