Brawl of up to 200 youths broken up by police in Taitā, Lower Hutt

A brawl involving up to 200 people, mainly youths, was broken up by police in Taitā yesterday after a week of violence in the Lower Hutt suburb.

Social media users on a local community page said the brawl was an “organised rumble” between Hutt Valley and Porirua school students.

Hutt Valley area commander Inspector Robert Rutene said police would be more visible in the suburb today to provide reassurance to residents after an “eventful week”.

“Yesterday, police received a number of calls from around 5.30pm of a large group of people fighting on High Street, Taita, around Walter Nash Stadium and the surrounding area,” Rutene said in a statement.

“There were reportedly up to 200 people involved, mainly youth, including students from local schools.

“Hutt Valley Police attended and were assisted by colleagues from Wellington, Kāpiti, and Porirua.”

The group was dispersed and no charges have been filed.

“This behaviour will not be tolerated by police. Staff will respond and, where appropriate, take enforcement action,” Rutene said.

“There have been a handful of significant incidents this week with a serious assault on Monday and an extended response to a man with a firearm that resulted in a number of schools going into lockdown on Tuesday.

“Our inquiries have determined these incidents were unrelated and we have dedicated teams investigating both.”

A 26-year-old is in custody after Monday’s assault, charged with wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, and is next due to appear in Hutt Valley District Court on March 14.

A collection has been set up at Taitā SuperSave for a local mechanic who was seriously assaulted on Monday.

The victim, understood to be a local mechanic, was in a critical condition in hospital after the attack, which left residents on edge.

Police said earlier that they were looking for three people in relation to the assault. After the 26-year-old’s arrest, they were now “actively looking” for two other people.

On Tuesday, in an unrelated incident, a 25-year-old man holed up in a Taitā property for hours with a firearm as police tried to negotiate with him.

He has since appeared in the Hutt Valley District Court on charges of resisting police and using a firearm against police.

The day after that, residents took to social media again in concern after police, including the Armed Offenders Squad, closed off roads in the suburb.

However, there was no incident, a police spokesman confirmed.

Police have been busy in the suburb of Taitā this week.

Officers were simply conducting a search warrant, as they sought to locate a person of interest.

“There was no risk to the public,” the spokesman said.

“No arrests were made, and the individual remains outstanding.”

The following day, Taitā was again thrown into disarray with the youth brawl.

“It is never ideal when several significant incidents take place over such a short period, and we can reassure you that police will continue to work hard to ensure you are safe and feel safe,” Rutene said.

Melissa Nightingale is a Wellington-based reporter who covers crime, justice and news in the capital. She joined the Herald in 2016 and has worked as a journalist for 10 years.