Three people are in hospital with serious head injuries following a mass disorder event involving dozens on Auckland's Karangahape Rd early this morning.
Police received multiple reports of disorder just after 3.30am on Sunday. Officers arrived to find around 50 people fighting and deployed significant resources, including a police dog, to disperse the crowd.
Police were called to the scene around 3.30am amid reports of fighting. (Source: 1News)
At 4.15am, a 33-year-old man sustained serious head injuries following an assault by an unknown person outside Crown Bar on Queen St. The victim was taken to hospital.
Around fifteen minutes later, a 27-year-old man received serious head injuries following an assault by an unknown person on Cobden St near Karangahape Rd. St John said an ambulance and a manager responded at 4.31am. The victim was taken to Auckland City Hospital in a critical condition.
At 5am, a 46-year-old man sustained serious head injuries in an assault at a Mobil Service Station on the corner of Karangahape Rd and Ponsonby Rd. A 21-year-old man was arrested and will appear in Auckland District Court tomorrow charged with wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.
Four people were arrested in relation to the disorder, including the man charged over the Mobil assault, a police spokesperson said.
'It could have been much more tragic'
Detective Senior Sergeant Mark Greaves said police were "disappointed at the bad, aggressive and careless behaviour on display" and vowed to hold all offenders to account.
He told 1News police were treating the incident "very seriously", adding that all three men were in hospital with head injuries.
"It could have been much more tragic."
Greaves confirmed there was "no evidence" of weapons being used "at this point of the investigation".
Police asked anyone who witnessed or filmed the assaults to call 105. A portal had been set up to allow the public to upload any footage.
'The whole road turned into a big brawl'
Keith Woodcock, a DJ at a bar on the popular night strip, told 1News there was "fight after fight after fight" when the clubs closed after 3am.
"Just a bit of a brawl started from one of the bars on K' Rd. I saw a couple of girls fighting first, and then it sort of got out of hand. People came from everywhere, and cars came from everywhere. The whole road turned into a big brawl."
He estimated up to 200–300 people were on the street, though not all were fighting.
"Once all the clubs came out, everyone was on the road. It was just fight after fight after fight."
Woodcock claimed some participants were arriving deliberately to join the fights.
"I saw a car pull up, and a couple of big boys got out ready for it. Ages were around 25 to 40 — no young people, just big boys."
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