5:00 pm
A member of Auckland's Somali community says the death of a young man during Wednesday night's Mt Albert street fight, could have been prevented if police had done more when they were called out to deal with the violence.
Police say they were called to the McGehan Close neighbourhood
four times that night. But each time, the fighting had died down by the time they got there.
Twenty-two-year-old Elikena Inia died from stab wounds near the heart ten minutes after arriving in hospital.
The young Tongan had walked right into a fight in McGehan Close between Pacific Islanders and Somalis.
The groups fought at least three times in the back streets of the Auckland suburb between 7 pm and early yesterday.
A Somali woman, who did not want to be named, told Radio New Zealand this afternoon she believed Mr Inia's death could have been prevented if police had remained in the area when they were first called out.
Auckland Detective Senior Sergeant Bruce Shadbolt today said police went out to the neighbourhood four times in the hours before Mr Inia was fatally stabbed.
He said at no time did they receive a call stating anyone had been stabbed.
But he said police were told a woman had been assaulted in her McGehan Close home that night and they sent an ambulance on the strength of that information.
Auckland's police communications centre took 11 calls from residents from the area between 7 pm and midnight.
Auckland Western area controller Inspector Steve Shortland said today that when officers went out to the neighbourhood, the incidents had died down and police took no action other than to file reports.
A police spokesperson told RNZ no arrests were made.
The Somali woman said her community was upset and shocked by what had happened.
She told RNZ families from her community were frightened, as there had been racial problems in the neighbourhood for some time.
Meanwhile Auckland police say they do not fear retaliation because of the stabbing.
Inspector Shortland said today police were aware that situations may develop and they would be monitoring the situation.
Twenty officers are working on Operation Trition.
