Police are investigating after an Auckland teenager was allegedly attacked inside Countdown Hauraki Corner last week.
The 16-year-old, who 1News has chosen to keep anonymous, says they were going to the supermarket with their friends to buy chocolate milk on the way home from school on Thursday, June 22.
They said a man, who looked about 20 years old, approached them and their friends before verbally abusing and kicking them.
"He started making comments to me like, 'oh you're f***ing gay aren't you, you look gay don't you'".
"He started saying, like, 'I'll fight you' or 'I'll beat you up' or whatever and then he called me a f*g.
"He was like 'you're a f***ing f****t, aren't you?'
"He started saying stuff like that, then said he was going to beat me up. The whole time he was a few feet away but then he got right up in my face and starting kicking me in the shins."
The teen said they were "in shock" as the man kicked them "pretty hard" and they were left badly bruised. A picture was provided to 1News of the bruising.
"I do think that from how aggressive and, like, in my face he was being, that if I hadn't had other people with me there, he probably would have tried to hurt me more because he was just very aggressively staring me down when he kicked me and he didn't seem like he had any intention of stopping or any control to back off.
"He was bigger and taller than me, and I was in school uniform so he's just going purposely picking on school kids."
The teenager said it was upsetting and that they're shaken up after being targeted because of their sexual orientation.
"Existing as a queer person with my identity – I have like dyed hair and piercings and stuff and I guess that's why he targeted me.
"He just saw anything different about me. I wear the school uniform pants instead of the skirt so you know, when something like this happens you have to be a lot more on your guard when you go out in public."
'When somebody hurts your child, it really affects you'
The teen's mother, who has also asked to remain anonymous, told 1News the past week has been stressful for their family.
"It really affects you that you weren't there to protect them, you know, but I've been overwhelmed by the community support. Everyone's been amazing."
"I work all the way out in Māngere so if something happens, I can't get back quickly to [them]."
She said she's also felt a lot of upset from the community, worrying local kids aren't safe walking home from school.
"We just want him [the offender] to not do it to anyone else and we just want [her child] to feel like they can go out and feel safe."
"I want my child to feel protected in our community and I think that speaks for the whole of the Hauraki community from what I've gathered."
She said staff at Countdown were "amazing" and took the teen out the back to ice their leg after the incident.
"With CCTV footage, fingers crossed he gets caught so none of our babies or adults get hurt."
Countdown, police respond
Police told 1News they are investigating the assault.
"The incident, on Lake Rd, was reported to have occurred around 3.45pm.
"We have no tolerance for any kind of violent behaviour in our community and we are committed to holding those responsible to account."
Police said they have reviewed the available CCTV and are following "positive lines of inquiry" into the incident.
"We will update the victim and their family of this matter directly as the investigation progresses."
A Countdown spokesperson told 1News the company condemns any kind of violence.
"There's no place for violence like this anywhere in our community, and we will continue to assist police with their inquiries.
"We are continuing to see an increase in aggressive, threatening, and brazen behaviour in our stores. This is unacceptable and keeping our customers and team safe from violence and aggression is a key priority for our business.
"We already have a number of different safety and security measures in place in our stores including specific team training for dealing with these types of situations, store design initiatives, push to talk radios and use of CCTV, and we’ll be rolling out more of these measures in the coming months."
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