A 13-year-old boy in broad daylight was punched in the head and threatened with being stabbed if he didn’t hand over his shoes. Photo / Jason Dorday
A 13-year-old boy in broad daylight was punched in the head and threatened with being stabbed if he didn’t hand over his shoes. Photo / Jason Dorday
A 13-year-old boy was punched in the head and threatened with being stabbed if he didn’t hand over his shoes.
The boy was outside the Britomart McDonald’s in Auckland’s CBD on Sunday with a small group of friends when he was forced to hand over his beloved$250 Nike TN shoes.
The robbery happened five days after a 13-year-old girl was attacked inside the same McDonald’s.
After Sunday’s incident, the boy fled in panic and hid in nearby stores as the group of about six offenders followed him.
The teenager’s father, Kurt, told the Herald his son met up with a small group of friends in Newmarket, “like any typical boys their age”.
He explained that he and his three friends were about to order their food at McDonald’s when a group of about six slightly older teenagers with larger builds began watching them.
After a few minutes, Kurt’s son and his friends left the restaurant, but the other group followed them.
Just outside, near the bike shelter, the group surrounded his son and his friend while his other friends stood a few metres away, Kurt said.
“One of the boys - who seemed to be the ringleader - said to my son, ‘What are you looking at? I saw you looking at me’.”
A 13-year-old boy in broad daylight was punched in the head and threatened with being stabbed if he didn’t hand over his shoes. Photo / Jason Dorday
‘Give me your shoes or I’ll stab you’
Kurt said without warning, the alleged ringleader threw a left hook and punched his son in the cheek.
The offender then reached into his bum bag and said; “Give me your shoes or I’ll stab you”.
He said his son did not want to escalate the situation or put his friends at risk, so he “sheepishly” took off his new shoes and handed them over.
He said his son managed to escape toward Te Ara Tahuhu Square, where they were followed.
“He was going in and out of shops saying, ‘Can I hide in here? Have you got a change room I can hide in?’
“My son and his friend took shelter in the Adidas store, where security quickly noticed,” he said.
