Two teenage boys, aged 14 and 16, have been charged with murder over the alleged mistaken-identity shooting of 23-year-old university student Marco Tapia in Sydney’s south-west.

Police allege the boys were involved in preparing for the attack and in steps taken afterwards, including staging vehicles and providing a firearm. The charges are allegations only. Both boys are before the children’s court and no finding of guilt has been made.

Mr Tapia was shot dead at a home in Glen Alpine on 1 September. Investigators later said they believed the wrong house had been targeted. Police were told the people involved left the property shortly before officers arrived.

The latest arrests followed search warrants executed at two Fairfield properties at about 10am on Wednesday. The two teenagers were arrested and taken to Cabramatta Police Station before being charged with a series of offences.

Both boys were charged with murder, participating in a criminal group to contribute to criminal activity, possessing an unauthorised prohibited firearm and two counts of driving a conveyance without the owner’s consent. The 14-year-old also faces an additional charge of damaging property by fire or explosion.

Police say the case remains an active investigation and allege the teenagers were not the gunmen acting alone. Detective Superintendent Joe Doueihi said investigators believe three offenders were involved in the home invasion and that the criminal group believed to have organised or facilitated the shooting has not yet been identified.

According to police, the teenagers’ alleged role included helping with preparation, disposing of vehicles, supplying weapons and cleaning places used by offenders after the shooting. Police further allege they were paid for their involvement. Those allegations have not been tested in court.

Superintendent Doueihi said the boys were still attending school and described them as young people who appeared vulnerable to recruitment by organised crime figures. He said investigators believed financial reward and the perceived excitement of criminal activity may have played a role in drawing them in.

Police also allege the 14-year-old attempted to burn a vehicle used in connection with the offending and was injured in the process, later requiring hospital treatment. That detail forms part of the police account and is not an established court finding.

The boys did not apply for bail and bail was formally refused. Their matters have been adjourned until 13 November at Parramatta Children’s Court.

The age of the accused is a significant part of the case. Because both defendants are minors, the legal process is being conducted through the children’s court system. Reporting must also distinguish carefully between what police allege and what has actually been proven, particularly in a case involving serious charges and young defendants.

Police say their investigation is continuing into how the boys were recruited, who allegedly directed them and how much money may have been offered. Investigators have not publicly identified the underworld group they believe was behind the shooting.

Mr Tapia’s death was one of two suspected mistaken-identity shootings in Sydney within about 48 hours earlier this month. On 2 September, tradesman Joshua Macdonald was shot outside a property in Merrylands West. Police sources told the ABC that Mr Macdonald did not appear to have criminal connections.

Two children were present at the Merrylands West property when that shooting occurred. The circumstances of the two cases are separate and authorities have not said that the same people were responsible, but the incidents have intensified concern about young people being drawn into serious organised crime.

Senior police have previously said gang figures based overseas are increasingly using younger people to carry out tasks linked to criminal networks. Superintendent Jason Box told the ABC that more than 800 people had been arrested for organised-crime-related offences over the previous year and said a high proportion of those drawn into contracted offending were juveniles.

Police say the attraction can be immediate cash for young people who may not fully appreciate the consequences of involvement in violent crime. In this case, Superintendent Doueihi said the alleged conduct was poorly executed and left investigators with a trail of evidence that helped identify the teenagers.

That police assessment does not reduce the seriousness of the allegations. Murder is among the most serious criminal charges a person can face, and the prosecution will still have to prove the case against each accused beyond reasonable doubt through the court process.

The mistaken-identity element also remains central to the investigation. Police have said Mr Tapia was not the intended target and that the Glen Alpine home was selected in error. Investigators are therefore trying to establish not only who carried out the attack, but how the intended target was chosen and how the wrong property came to be attacked.

For Mr Tapia’s family and community, the case has moved from an investigation into an unexplained fatal shooting to a prosecution involving two children and allegations of organised-crime recruitment. But significant parts of the police case remain unresolved, including the identity of the alleged organisers and the full role of any additional offenders.

Authorities are also examining the pathways by which young people are recruited into criminal networks. Police have said enforcement alone will not prevent that recruitment and have called for families and communities to play a role in keeping vulnerable teenagers away from people offering money for criminal activity.

The case is likely to develop over coming months as investigators gather further evidence and the children’s court considers the charges. Until then, the central facts remain limited: two boys have been charged, police allege they assisted in planning and covering up aspects of the shooting, and the prosecution has not yet been tested in court.

Mr Tapia, a 23-year-old university student, remains the victim at the centre of the case. Police continue to describe his killing as a mistaken-identity shooting, while the search for those alleged to have organised and carried out the broader operation continues.

Detectives have also emphasised that the latest charges do not close the investigation. Police are still trying to identify the person or group that allegedly commissioned the shooting, establish how the teenagers were approached and determine the role of the third offender they believe was involved in the home invasion.

The fact that investigators say the wrong house was targeted means the case also depends on reconstructing how information about the intended target was gathered and passed between those involved. That part of the investigation may be important in determining responsibility beyond the two teenagers already before the court.

Authorities have linked the broader pattern of youth recruitment to organised-crime figures offering comparatively small amounts of money for high-risk tasks. Police say that makes prevention more difficult because young recruits may be drawn in before they understand the seriousness of the offences they are being asked to assist with. In Mr Tapia’s case, those concerns now sit alongside the immediate criminal proceedings, which must determine the individual responsibility of each accused on the evidence.

The next court date will not determine the entire case at once. Serious criminal proceedings can involve further evidence, legal argument and case management before any final hearing. For now, the charges mean prosecutors allege the boys were criminally responsible; they do not establish that responsibility as fact.