Street brawl leaves man in intensive care

A man is given CPR in the aftermath of the brawl at Beresford Square. Picture / Michael Craig

A daytime street brawl outside an inner-city Auckland bar involving nearly a dozen patrons has left a young man in hospital fighting for his life - sparking claims the city is seeing a return to the sort of urban violence that marred the late 1970s.

A 23-year-old man was last night in intensive care at Auckland Hospital after he suffered serious head injuries, and possibly a heart attack, in the fight which broke outside the Supper Club, an all-night bar near Karangahape Rd.

The man and a group of friends, including his twin and another brother, had left the bar shortly after 8.30am, and were about to be driven home by a friend when a heated argument began with a group of men parked in a nearby car. People who watched the fight were unsure who started the verbal jousting, or threw the first punch, but said the street brawl quickly spiralled out of control.

Car windows were smashed and items of clothing were left strewn on the ground in the aftermath, as two car loads of men began punching and kicking each other in the fracas.

Witnesses say the man was knocked over and fell backwards, hitting his head on the kerbside.

His attackers allegedly kept kicking him in the head when he was on the ground, and then fled the scene in a black late-model Mazda with police in high-speed pursuit.

They were caught soon after and arrested for questioning.

Four people were arrested at the scene for fighting, and were being interviewed along with witnesses.

Yesterday's attack is the latest in a series of random acts of violence which experts say have become all too common in the city.

Criminologist Greg Newbold said the type of violence being seen this year on the streets of Auckland mirrored that of the 1970s when gangs like the Black Power and Mongrel were jostling for power.

He said those gangs were now preoccupied with the manufacture of methamphetamine. The mantle has passed on to youth gangs, he said.

The worrying thing was such conflicts would continue, and possibly escalate.

"You can try and ameliorate it, dabble with it and try and pick up some of the broken pieces, but it's an international phenomena and a product of a certain type of environment."

He believed unless poverty was stamped out there would be no end to violence perpetuated by youth gangs who modelled themselves on "the home boys of Los Angeles".

Len Brown of 274 Youth Worker Project, formerly the Otara Youth Action Group, agreed the current violence echoed that of the 1970s.

David Korewha, a security guard who patrols Karangahape Rd every day, said yesterday's attack was "right up there" with the worst he had seen.

"There's way too much of this violence going on, kicking a man when he was down."