Police swoop after brawl on K Rd. Video / Supplied
Witnesses described chaotic scenes after a brawl broke out at a central Auckland club last night, forcing police to cordon off a section of the street.
Visiting Australian artists MLBRN, AMU tha MC and Say TrueGod had their first New Zealand show at Karangahape Rd's Neck of the Woods last night at 8pm.
But within minutes a fight broke out at the club and police turned up in numbers outside. They were forced to shut a section of K Rd's main shopping strip between Pitt St and Queen St.
A witness who was having dinner at nearby Coco's Cantina told the Herald it was about 8.15pm when he saw quite a few bikes go past.
"People riding the bikes were wearing Hells Angels and Mongrel Mob insignia.
"They went past and then more than half a dozen police cars followed."
Another eyewitness said people were locked in their restaurant and couldn't leave.
"Throughout the evening we saw King Cobra and Tribesman coming in groups of 30-40 wearing bandannas or ski masks staring at Neck of the Wood, almost casing it out.
"At 9pm about 50-70 [people] lined up on both sides of the road not talking but staring at the bar. The police were called at this time as it was very obvious that something was about to start.
"They started hissing and charged the bar intending to gain entrance into the Neck of the Woods."
It was obvious that the crowd going into the gig were also gang members but not wearing patches so it must have been some bikie turf war, the eyewitness said.
"Once the police turned up in large presence, they did little to arrest people with the bikies hanging around hissing; more Tribesmen and King Cobra members turned up on their bikes.
"This was an extremely scary moment that could have injured many people."
Over the past five weeks, there had been a massive gang presence down the end of K Rd near Neck of the Woods, the eyewitness said.
"Their presence is damaging business and making people feel unsafe."
Police turn up in numbers to put an end to a brawl at a popular central Auckland club on K Rd last night. Photo / Supplied
One person who was at the show said the support acts were performing when the club turned the lights on and told the crowd they had to leave without any explanation.
"We were inside the club enjoying the music. We had no clue there was any trouble outside until the lights came on and we were asked to leave.
"The only time I felt unsafe was when we were asked to leave and no one wanted to go."
In a statement from Neck of the Woods, they said as the situation escalated, their team made the call to shut down the event to ensure everyone was kept safe.
"We also had real concern for the safety of our neighbours Candela and Ōtautahi."
They said they were relieved the confrontation didn't erupt inside the venue leading to what could have been far worse outcomes for many.
"We're proud of our security team who did a great job last night, despite being heavily outnumbered," the statement said.
"We want to make clear that this was an isolated incident and does not reflect the spirit of our community."
They said behaviour that made people feel unsafe or uncomfortable was not welcome at Neck of the Woods.
"We do not tolerate any kind of behaviour that takes away from other people's ability to enjoy their night out."
The artist's record label Brotherhood Music said they were "saddened" they couldn't put on the show to a sold-out crowd who were there for the right reasons - "to support our music and culture".
"We would have loved to continue the show but unfortunately the decision was made by the police to shut the show down. And it ultimately was out of our hands."
A police spokesperson said following reports of disorder-related incidents, police cordoned off areas of Karangahape Rd shortly after 9pm last night and worked to disperse groups who had gathered.
"Two people were arrested, a 33-year-old man will appear in Auckland District Court today charged with possessing an offensive weapon," the spokesman said.
"And a 59-year-old man will appear in Auckland District Court on September 29 facing charges including assault and wilful damage."
