More arrests are anticipated in an ongoing crackdown after four people were injured in a public brawl involving gang members in Wairoa last weekend, police said.
Police were called to an altercation between teenagers at around 3pm on July 27 which became "increasingly violent" after adults, including Mongrel Mob members and associates, became involved.
At least two people were moderately injured after receiving stab wounds and two people were struck by a vehicle.
Ten gang members have been arrested in relation to the brawl so far, said Acting Tairāwhiti Area Commander Inspector Darren Paki.
Eight more arrested, unrelated to the brawl
Eight other people with gang membership or association have been also arrested for unrelated matters as part of the ongoing investigation.
Paki said police were "pleased" with the progress and quick response of the investigation.
"More police activity is planned, and we anticipate more arrests."
Additional staff would be deployed and "highly visible" in Wairoa to ensure people feel safe, he added.
"We would like to make it clear that this behaviour will not be tolerated in our community, and locals deserve to be able to go about their business without fear of gang members causing harm to the wider community."
Anyone with relevant information should contact police on 105.
'So disappointed' — Wairoa Mayor
Wairoa Mayor Craig Little says the community are "embarrassed, shocked and in disbelief" and that the fight broke out between younger gang members, before older members "got in".
"It's just so disappointing with what Wairoa's going through at the moment. We don't need this and it's just an embarrassment.
"Where is the leadership of these gangs? They should have just jumped in there and stopped it," he said.
Little said he knew and had worked with many of the gang members as a leader within his community, saying recently they had been "pretty good to be honest".
"I'm just so disappointed. I know [fighting] is a spur of the moment thing for a lot of young fellas, but we've got to put our town on the map. And people have been helping us across the country and now they look at this and think, 'oh my god what's going on?'."
He said the community had expressed to him how "embarrassed, shocked and in disbelief" they were that innocent bystanders were being put at risk by gang activity.
"They've been working with some of these gang guys, and I'm just so disappointed. They've really shown themselves in a bad light this time."
Gang leadership needed
Little said the next step was to "get the gang leaders together" to come up with solutions.
"I know they won't be happy, the ones who are really genuine … We just have to stop it and it really plays into the hand of what the Government is saying, you put a patch on somebody and it creates bad behaviour, and it did on Saturday so it just has to stop."
Little said this appeared to be a "one-off" and he would continue to engage with gang members.
"If you're not talking with them, you've got no chance. We haven't had something like this in a long time. We've had little skirmishes as every town does, but this one was a shock."
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