Boy's fatal stabbing shuts schools [+audio]

More than 3000 pupils will be turned away from two Auckland schools today as police investigate the fatal stabbing of a 14-year-old boy.

Manaola Kaumeafaiva was killed in what police called a "random act of fatal violence".

Police said a murder charge is unlikely to be laid today but they are not looking for anyone else.

"We believe we know who was responsible for the incident outside the college and we will carry out our inquiries and reach the logical conclusion at the end of those," said police spokeswoman Noreen Hegarty.

Officers have cordoned off Victor Rd and part of Holly St around Avondale College for a scene examination.

The college and neighbouring Avondale Intermediate will be closed because the cordon would restrict students' access to the schools.

Avondale College principal Brent Lewis said 2675 secondary students and about 500 intermediate pupils were affected.

A 16-year-old from Mt Wellington appeared in the Auckland Youth Court yesterday on a charge of assault with a weapon.

He will face a more serious charge of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm when he reappears in court today.

The inquiry head, Detective Senior Sergeant Greg Cramer, said the dead boy did not know his attacker.

"Our inquiries show that the act was in fact random. We are still making inquiries but there is nothing to suggest there was any form of provocation."

Mr Cramer said the charge related to the injuries suffered by a youth who tried to help Mana.

Mr Lewis said Mana was a popular student at Avondale College and a nice young man. He was reluctant to comment further before meeting the Kaumeafaiva family.

Mana was the middle of three boys and two girls.

His brother Ben, 19, said Mana was standing outside the college gates waiting for a friend to come back from a nearby dairy with a pie when he was attacked.

"He was a jokester. No way would he look for trouble. He was too young."

A constant stream of friends and relatives came to the Kaumeafaiva family home in the tidy neighbourhood to express their sorrow.

A dozen of Mana's friends huddled together in the street near his house, some of them weeping.

They said they could not believe that their friend was dead.

Mana played outfielder in the college's junior softball team. He also played basketball with his friends at neighbouring Eastdale Park, they said.

"Mana was caring and responsible ... He always took care of us," one friend said.

A security guard working at the hip-hop event described how Mana walked towards him, looked him in the eyes and then collapsed.

The guard, known only as John, rang NewstalkZB in the early hours of yesterday after making a statement to the police.

He said Mana was a "bit intoxicated" and the guard told him to go outside the school gates to sober up.

He said the teenager was sitting down having a cigarette.

"He was just sitting innocently and then he came walking towards me - him and his friend - and his friend said he was stabbed.

"I asked the guy who was stabbed if he was all right but he just looked at me and collapsed.

"I applied first aid to him but to no avail. He just died in my hands."

Mana died before an ambulance arrived but paramedics tried to revive him with a shock to the heart, John said.

Mr Cramer would not comment on reports that three youths in a silver car were heard yelling out references to a South Auckland gang at the time of the stabbing.

Nor would he be drawn on whether gang problems were spreading from South to West Auckland.

The western suburbs have a number of youth gangs - including rival Avondale gangs DMS (Drugs Money Sex) and JDK (Junior Don Kings) - and police have taken a zero-tolerance approach to their violence.

No weapon connected to Mana's death had been found yesterday.

Mr Cramer said that anyone who had witnessed the tragedy should contact the Avondale CIB.

VIOLENT STREETS

* October 22: Manaola Kaumeafaiva is stabbed to death outside a church-organised hip-hop rally in Avondale.

* September 23: A 20-year-old man is bashed at a party in Massey, Waitakere City, suffering head injuries and a severely broken jaw that required a plate.

* September 17: Gheorghe Simion, 39, a Romanian-born Mangere resident, is beaten with fists at the Mangere Town Centre as he waits for a supermarket to open. He dies in hospital from head injuries.

* September 2: Riki Mafi, 17, is attacked with a metal baseball bat while walking through the Otara Town Centre. He dies several days later from head injuries.

* July 16: Haruru Pekepo, 19, is shot dead during a fight between two groups of young men on a street in Otahuhu.

* July 9: Kelly Lawrence, 18, is fatally stabbed in the chest as he walks past a group of people gathered on the street who had been at a party in Mangere.

* August 18: Faafetai Lafolua, 24, is fatally dragged under a car in Otahuhu.

Additional reporting: NZPA