Nervous wait as Cyclone Gabrielle looms, police warn ahead of a ‘battle of the hoods,’ and Red Cross gear up to support Turkey and Syria in the latest New Zealand Herald headlines. Video / NZ Herald
Ambulance workers in the heart of Hamilton city have been ordered to don stab-proof vests while on the job today, following reports of a scheduled gang scrap.
The “Battle of the Hoods”, announced through an online flyer circulated on social media, is scheduled to take place on Friday at 3pm near the Hamilton Transport Centre.
In a description littered with spelling and grammatical errors, the flyer tells members to meet at the depot before continuing the fight “around town”.
“Weapons aloud [sic]” the flyer reads, while telling members to meet at Enderley Park on Saturday if police intervene.
Ambulance services have been alerted to the incident. Photo / NZME
The Herald understands the organised scrap is set to involve students attending different schools and it’s been described by those informed about the fight as a “schools versus schools” affair.
It’s understood those involved in the rival “hoods” have a private Instagram account, where videos are posted of their fights.
The fight has put the city on edge, with a local high school sending an urgent message to parents warning them of the scrap.
The poster for 'Battle of the Hoods' circulating on social media. Photo / Supplied
“Due to the possibility of an advertised fight event, the police have advised as a precautionary measure that alternative transport arrangements are made for your child on this day and to avoid going into the city centre,” the message read.
St John confirmed to the Herald that all ambulance staff working within Hamilton City boundaries have been issued lightweight tactical vests “in light of the event this afternoon”.
The vests are designed to provide stab, slash and light ballistic protection, to offer “an additional layer of protection” to staff in the rare instance it’s called for.
Adrian Gavin, area operations manager, said safety is paramount for their staff.
“The use of vests does not change our standard approach, which is to only deploy ambulances crews into environments with risk of violence when cleared by NZ Police.”
According to police, there has been no action taken since the flyer reached the public domain - however, they have urged locals to not come into the city to watch the scrap.
“There is the potential you may put yourself in harm’s way,” a police spokesperson said.
Hamilton mayor Paula Southgate told the Herald on Thursday she was “shocked and disgusted” to hear about the organised fight and called the poster “incredibly confronting”.
“What was really of concern to me is that it was a neighbourhood versus neighbourhood. That’s just tragically sad for our city that people would want three neighbourhoods to come together and harm each other,” she said.
Southgate didn’t believe it was connected to any notorious New Zealand gangs and didn’t know if it were youths organising the brawl.
The mayor, along with Hamilton Council, has been in contact with police, City Safe and other agencies.
Police have increased their presence at the Hamilton Transport Centre, with multiple officers at the scene and marked cars patrolling the site.
Police presence at Hamilton Transport Hub, ahead of reports of the "Battle of the Hoods". Photo / Mike Scott
Among the marked cars was at least one police van.
Schools and sports clubs reached out to their students yesterday to alert them to the risks around the planned event, telling parents to keep their students away from key areas.
“We would strongly encourage you to keep your sons and daughters away from the areas of Enderley, the Central City Bus Station or Chartwell,” said Scott Jenkins, principal of Morrinsville College in a statement online.
“This may seem to be an overly cautious alert, however we would like our parents to be fully informed and be able to make good decisions with regards to their sons’ and daughters’ safety.”
Jenkins said the school would not like to see their students caught up as bystanders in the event.
Melville Junior Rugby club put out a statement on their social media acknowledging a number of kids in the community catch buses to and from school at the location of the fight.
“We really do appreciate everyone who has let us know. Information has been passed on to police from many sources,” the statement said.
City Safe unit manager Kelvin Powell said the council’s City Safe team is “liaising closely with police”.
“We are taking steps to make sure our staff on the ground are kept safe, and others should avoid both areas at the proposed times.”
