Gang member charged after South Auckland attacks

A 17-year-old faces two attempted murder charges after a weekend of violence in South Auckland that left two teenagers critically hurt and one man dead.

The accused teenager was due in Manukau District Court today where he would also face a charge of wounding following an incident, the previous weekend, which left an innocent school student semi-paralysed.

Police said the bashing was linked with the death of Iulio Naea Kilepoa, 38, who was found dead several hours after the fight when the two teenagers were badly hurt.

Detective Senior Sergeant Sue Schwalger said the incidents were linked but police were still trying to establish when the man died and how it was connected to the fight.

Nine people have been arrested as part of the investigation.


She said that early on Sunday morning several car loads of a youth gang went to the area at Flatbush "on a mission".

There they attacked cars in the street and beat up the two young victims, also youth gang members.

She said the police needed the public's help to establish who was in the cars.

She also said the level of violence among young gang members was beyond the police's stretched resources and community involvement was desperately needed to turn it around.

One of the youths, 18, was in a critical but stable condition in Auckland Hospital.

The second victim, 17, was in a serious condition in Middlemore Hospital.

The critically-ill youth had a suffered a very serious head injury in the attack.

Ms Schwalger said the beating continued for some time after the youth lay unconscious on the ground.

- NZPA, NEWSTALK ZB