“[He] randomly went up to my daughter and punched her in the back of the head. He attempted to hit her again but was yelled at by her brave friends.”
He was told that members of the public stood around and watched. No one intervened to help the teens, he said.
The incident comes as the Government moves to crack down on gangs, with the Gangs Legislation Amendment Bill now officially law.
It includes the banning of all gang patches or insignia in public areas from November 21. Police will also be able to stop criminal gangs from communicating.
Police have also confirmed that an extra 77 police officers would operate through its national and regional gang disruption units, 14 of which will be in Auckland. Groups of 10 or fewer officers will be in other regions, while five staff formed the national unit.
The teen’s father said he wanted to give Prime Minister Christopher Luxon a message.
“He is so focused on tackling crime with gangs and people wearing patches and keeping dairy owners safe. What about keeping all youth, kids and adults safe on the streets in all cities?
“There is no protection other than security guards that do nothing.”
In their case, the man who allegedly attacked his daughter was not wearing a gang patch, just “normal clothing”.
Police confirmed they had received a report of an incident on September 18 in which a person was assaulted.
“As this [is] in the very early stages, we will assess the matter for further inquiries.”
It’s the second report of a daylight attack on Queen St in as many weeks.
Police are also investigating a report of a hate-motivated assault in Queen St earlier this month that left a pedestrian injured.
Auckland City central response manager Senior Sergeant Dave Plunkett said a young woman was approached by an unknown female on the corner of Queen St and Scotia Pl about 2.50pm on September 2.
The victim described in a social media post having her headscarf snatched from behind by her attacker, who shouted at her to “go back to your own country”.
“The offender has assaulted the victim, before yelling verbal threats and took a number of items before leaving on foot,” Plunkett said.
“We are providing support to the victim and want to reassure the community we are working hard to locate the person responsible.”
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