A photo from the November 8 beach party at Mount Maunganui where the teen was bashed.
The mother of a teen bashed by a group of youths and “left face down” in Mount Maunganui surf near a beach party says “he could have died”.
She is speaking out about the “scary” incident to warn other parents of teens as the summer party season ramps up.
The mother, who works as a nurse and asked not to be named for safety reasons, said on November 8, her 17-year-old son attended a beach party off the Concord Ave beach accessway.
She said he left home about 8.30pm that Saturday and was picked up by friends before heading to the party, attended by about 60 teenagers from two local colleges.
“My son is a good kid, and I tried to persuade him to stay home, but he insisted on going, and he and his group of friends arrived at the party about 9.30pm.”
There was alcohol at the party, and her son was drinking.
She has pieced together what happened next from the bits he could remember, and from his friend who was with him.
The mother said the beating happened between 10pm and 11.20pm.
Her son’s group was chatting near the beach access, about 400 metres from the larger group of partygoers.
“Then I’m told a group of eight youths wearing dark clothing and hooded tops suddenly turned up and surrounded my son.”
She said her son was friendly to them, and initially thought they were friendly too.
“Instead, they became angry and aggressive, and apparently had machetes on them.”
The mother said the friend told her son to run, but he was “outnumbered” by the youths.
She was told they demanded money, alcohol and phones, but her son did not have his phone.
“Then my son says he was punched around the head, and they stole alcohol and money, and must have fled in the dark.
“The worst thing was after the beating, they left my son face down in the water, and he swallowed a lot of salt water. He could have drowned.”
She said her son’s friend ran about 400m down the beach for help.
“A couple helped him drag my unconscious son from the water, and the couple carried him most of the way home, until my son regained consciousness and he was able to walk the rest of the way.”
He arrived home “drenched” about 12pm, with ears full of sand, laboured breathing and soreness from the beating.
The mother said she called 111, and six police officers quickly responded and about 10 minutes later, an ambulance arrived and took her son to Tauranga Hospital.
She said he was discharged from the hospital the next morning after a CT scan and chest X-ray “miraculously” came back clear, but was attending a concussion clinic.
“We are so lucky that he didn’t drown or suffer a brain bleed, or have any fractures or a spinal injury.”
He also had a swollen right eyelid and right temple, cuts under his chin and on his left hand, and limited hearing in his right ear.
“He doesn’t remember much after the attack, including how he ended up in the water.”
She said he was having counselling, and because his eyes were not tracking properly, he would undergo vision and hearing tests.
The beach attack happened a week after a party in Welcome Bay’s Victory St turned violent, with youths brawling in the street and police were called.
The mother said she was speaking out to warn other parents about the dangers of allowing teenagers to attend beach parties, even if they sounded harmless.
“The police told me that this is their busiest time of year for parties, alcohol incidents and when gangs and other bad people become aware of them, they can see vulnerable youth as easy targets.”
She said police told them the attackers could have been a youth gang.
The whole family was “traumatised” by the beach attack.
“My son told me he thought he was dying when he was being attacked … I could have easily lost my son.
“He has learned a lesson from this, and I never want this to happen to any other family.”
The mother said she wanted to thank all emergency staff for their “outstanding care” of her son, and the police and ambulance staff for their quick responses and “incredible support”.
A police spokesman said the police received a report of a youth being assaulted on Mount Maunganui Beach, about 11.30pm on November 8.
“The assault is believed to have involved a group of around 10 people, and the police were notified after the alleged victim was brought home from the beach by members of the public.”
Police are investigating.
Sandra Conchie is a senior journalist at the Bay of Plenty Times and Rotorua Daily Post who has been a journalist for 25 years. She mainly covers police, court and other justice stories, as well as general news. She has been a Canon Media Awards regional/community reporter of the year.