Grey Lynn Park has allegedly been the scene of several violent attacks by groups of young people. Photo / Alex Burton
Grey Lynn Park has allegedly been the scene of several violent attacks by groups of young people. Photo / Alex Burton
Several violent attacks by groups of young people have allegedly occurred within days at a popular central Auckland park.
A local woman said she went into “panic mode” after she was punched in the stomach by a teenager last week.
She was relaxing in Grey Lynn Park withher eyes closed and noise-cancelling headphones on when the “brazen” attack occurred.
The woman, in her 30s, told the Herald that since the incident occurred, other park-goers have come forward with similar stories about a group of young people terrorising people in the park.
A post by the woman’s flatmate said that in the past week alone, a group of teenage boys threw water balloons at a woman reading in the park, and a carload of teenagers set off fireworks to “deliberately” hit a man.
Police told the Herald they were aware of several of the alleged incidents.
Police said they received a call in the early hours of November 6 about a vehicle driving through Grey Lynn Park and its occupants setting off fireworks.
There were no further complaints or reports in relation to the fireworks incident, nor any reports of injury, police said.
Detective Senior Sergeant Anthony Darvill said police were making further inquiries into the report made about the attack on the woman at 6.45pm on November 4.
Darvill said they are canvassing for any CCTV footage in the area at the time the assault occurred.
“Police ask anyone in the area at the time who has information about the assault, or those involved, to contact us,” he said.
It is unclear if the people allegedly involved in these separate incidents are the same individuals who attacked the local woman.
‘I was in hysterics’
The woman, who wished to remain anonymous, said she was walking past the rugby club last Tuesday before she was attacked.
“I just heard kind of like screaming right behind me, and so I stepped to the side.
“I think there was like three of them on a bike and one on an e-scooter,” she said.
She said the group looked to be 14-16 years old.
Grey Lynn Park. Photo / Alex Burton
The local said the group zoomed past her, and then she made her way to some wooden benches on the side of a hill to rest and listen to music.
“I didn’t realise that they had come back and kind of snuck up on me because I literally just zoned out and kind of was lying in the sun with my eyes closed.
“I was lying on my back, and one of them punched me down into my stomach.
“Then I kind of opened my eyes and went into panic mode,” she said.
The woman said the group ran away laughing, and then she sprinted to her nearby home in shock.
“I was like in hysterics to my partner being like, what is wrong with them? Who even thinks to do that? ... I’m a grown woman, I can’t even think about what they’re doing to people their own age.”
Following the incident, she said both she and her flatmate have spoken with other park-goers and neighbours to warn them.
“Another lady messaged saying her kids don’t go to the park anymore, they were bullied out of it.”
