Praneeta Mahajan
Hamilton, February 9, 2023
Hamilton parents received an urgent communication from the police and their children’s school authorities today afternoon, right in time for school pick-ups, warning them about keeping their children off public transport tomorrow because of a planned mass brawl that has led to police preparing to send officers to the city bus depot.
The commotion is about a highly disturbing social media post that is blatantly inviting teenagers to attend a fight tomorrow (Friday, 10 February) in the City centre for a mass fight between three suburbs.
The poster, widely being circulated online openly declares that weapons are allowed and that a “stab for a stab” is what can be expected.
The group, claims to be ‘Baddest of the Baddest’ and their blatant disregard for life, safety, law and order are extremely disturbing, to say the least.
Hamilton Mayor Paula Southgate said, “ I am shocked, disgusted and disappointed to hear about an organised fight in Hamilton in the next few days, and that it has been promoted and shared on social media. The police, our hardworking City Safe staff at Council, and other agencies are all taking this situation very seriously. We have a zero-tolerance policy for these kinds of threats.”
She said, “I strongly condemn violence of any kind taking place in our city. I would like to thank the police and all others involved for working hard to keep everyone safe.
She said she did not believe it was connected to any notorious New Zealand gangs and didn’t know if it were youths organising the brawl.
Ms Southgate was also worried about the possible disruption to public transport, and understood police are warning schools around the area about the “battle.”
She said, “on a personal note hearing stab for stab is totally disheartening. Because I want all of our community to thrive, our young people, our older people, I do not want a city in which the culture is let us see if we can put on a big fight.”
A police spokesperson said “We will be deploying officers to the area and actively monitoring for any unlawful activity, taking enforcement action if and when appropriate. We would like to discourage members of the public from coming into the city to observe this event as you may put yourself in harm’s way.”
Many parents were agitated upon learning of the possible violence in Hamilton and felt it was unsafe for the children to venture out tomorrow, as many schools are in the vicinity of both the venue and the backup venue (Enderley Park), that were announced in the poster.
The public is requested to avoid the Central City area for easier management and to stay away from harm’s way while parents are being requested to avoid public transport for their children’s commute tomorrow.
Praneeta Mahajan is an Indian Newslink correspondent based in Hamilton.
