Yesterday morning cordons were in place between Queen St and Avenue Rd as the Criminal Investigation Branch conducted a scene examination.
The Hastings Fire Brigade were called in and emergency service personnel could be seen searching the roofs of buildings in the area.
A drone was flown several times, believed to be taking aerial view shots of the area to map it.
The scene examination was completed and police had determined a weapon was not used in the assault, Detective Sergeant John McCarthy said.
Police appealed to the public for information during the afternoon, asking anyone who was on Karamu Rd around the time of the assault with information that could assist the police investigation to contact them.
Detective McCarthy said police were first alerted to the incident when a witness called police.
"There's possibly a black MPV vehicle with a Polynesian woman that was at the scene that we'd be interested in hearing from," he said.
Meanwhile a brazen bike theft in Frimley on Saturday has left a Hastings father concerned about his neighbourhood.
The father said he was shocked to hear his 10-year-old son and friend had their mountain bikes snatched from their hands at Frimley Park on Saturday afternoon.
His son's friend was punched by two older boys who then took off with their bikes, he said.
"They'd been down there in the afternoons with their bikes and a couple of small spades making a pile of dirt into some jumps; good teenage boy activities."
He said the boys had been working away at the jumps behind the park's council depot during the school holidays with no issues. However, about 4pm on Saturday a pair of older boys started hanging around their bags in an "intimidating" way.
Deciding it was time to leave, the pair went over to get their bikes but the son's friend was punched in the side of the head as he tried to leave, one of the older boys telling him "It's my bike now," he said.
"They just jumped on the bikes and took off. The boys called the cops and they were there really quickly, in a couple of minutes."
The Hastings father said he was "shocked" such theft had occurred in the middle of the afternoon near a playground full of children and parents.
Several parents nearby had heard yelling and walked over to the scene but the thieves had already gone.
"The bikes are a little bit irrelevant in some respects because physical things can be replaced. It's probably more about the fact that it was so brazen, that they felt entitled to be able to intimidate the boys and take the bikes, and the fact they thought that was okay."
A police spokesperson said police were called to the incident and had made inquiries, but could not comment further.
He estimated the stolen bikes, a Scott Aspect and Giant Talon, were worth more than $2000 combined.
He said the boys were both considerably upset about the experience, and children shouldn't have to worry about such incidents happening at their local park.
"My son had a bit of trouble sleeping last night and said all he could see was his friend getting punched, that was probably the worst thing."
He said the incident was disappointing as he had lived in the area for some years now with no issues.
"There's a little bit of stuff going on which is a little bit annoying and frustrating. We live in a nice part of town and have always felt safe. I don't think it's targeted, it's just what happens unfortunately, it's opportunistic."
If you were on Karamu Road around the time of the assault and have information which could assist the police investigation police ask that you call the Hastings Police on 06) 831 0700.
