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
Hamilton parents are being warned to keep their kids off public transport today because of a planned mass brawl that has “shocked and disgusted” the mayor and led to police preparing to send officers to the city bus depot.
Weapons are also allowed, according to a badly spelled poster for a “battle of the hoods” in Hamilton’s CBD. Schools are on high alert because of the potential safety risk.
The fight is scheduled to start at 3pm at the Hamilton Bus Depot and continue “all around town”, according to the poster circulating widely on social media.
“Stab for stab,” the poster also reads.
The poster for "battle of the hoods" is circulating on social media.
One intermediate school has sent an urgent message to parents, warning them about the fight.
“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.
Hamilton mayor Paula Southgate told the Herald that she is “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.
Hamilton mayor Paula Southgate is "shocked and disgusted" at the planned fight. Photo / Mike Walen
Southgate didn’t believe it was connected to any notorious New Zealand gangs and didn’t know if it were youths organising the brawl.
She said she is in contact with police, city safe and other agencies, who she has “full faith” in to prevent the fight and to handle it if it breaks out.
Southgate was also worried about the possible disruption to public transport, and understood police are warning schools around the area about the “battle”.
A police spokesperson said they will be deploying officers to the area and actively monitoring for any “unlawful activity, taking enforcement action if and when appropriate”.
“We would like to discourage members of the public from coming into the city to observe this event as... you may put yourself in harm’s way,” the spokesperson 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,” Powell said.
