Dunedin bus hub stabbing: Teenager recalls separating fight, tending to stab wound of 16-year-old

A teenager who pulled apart a scuffle at the Dunedin bus hub described the moment he realised one of the boys had been stabbed.

The trial of a 14-year-old accused of Enere John Junior Taana-McLaren’s murder began on Wednesday when a jury was empanelled in the High Court at Dunedin before Justice Robert Osborne.

Taana-McLaren died of a single stab wound at the bus hub on Great King St, on May 23 last year.

The 14-year-old defendant, who has name suppression, has reaffirmed his not-guilty plea to the single charge of murder.

The defence case is that he acted in self-defence.

A 17-year-old who was acquainted with both of the boys was sitting with friends in the bus hub, near the police station, on the day of the incident.

Enere Taana-McLaren died of a single stab wound at the Dunedin bus hub on May 23, 2024. Photo / Ben Tomsett

The witness, now 18, said he was aware Taana-McLaren was at the bus hub, but did not notice the defendant until the fight began.

When the fight took to the street, the witness said he ran towards the pair.

He recalled a knife being thrown in his direction, which he then picked up and tossed to the roadside before continuing to run toward the pair.

The witness said he put his right arm over the defendant’s shoulder and pulled him off Taana-McLaren.

Once he had separated them, he said he let the defendant go, turned to look towards Taana-McLaren and saw him lift up his shirt.

“I saw a stab wound that looked a couple [of] inches long,” the witness told the court this afternoon.

He said he then took off his own hoodie and wrapped it around Taana-McLaren.

The witness said he told him to lift his shirt, and then knotted his hoodie to try to stop the bleeding.

He said he stayed with Taana-McLaren until a police officer arrived on the scene, and showed the officer where he had thrown the knife.

Police officers at the scene of the incident. Photo / Ben Tomsett

Footage shown to jury

This morning, the jury was shown footage of the incident from multiple CCTV and cellphone camera angles.

Several members of the public gallery left before the footage was shown.

CCTV footage showed the defendant exiting a bus at the bus hub, and an exchange could then be seen taking place between the defendant and Taana-McLaren.

The exchange escalated into a physical altercation, which ended up in the middle of the road.

A bus hub security staff member ran to the pair and attempted to physically intervene.

A physical scuffle took place, and a “long, shiny object” could be seen being thrown away from the pair and clattering to the ground a few feet away.

The trial is under way in the High Court at Dunedin. Photo / George Heard

The pair then tumbled to the ground, with each of them being on top of the other at separate points.

From another angle, a member of the public can be seen picking up the object from the road and tossing it to the footpath before running towards the pair.

The pair were quickly separated by bus hub security and a member of the public.

In cellphone footage of the fight, witnesses could be heard exclaiming, “Someone’s been f***ing stabbed, bro.”

The defendant was walked away by a member of the public, while Taana-McLaren could be seen getting to his feet, lifting his shirt and looking down.

He then clutches his abdomen and walks to the footpath as members of the public can be seen speaking with him.

Taana-McLaren could be seen sitting on the footpath, and then lying down.

Police officers at the scene of the incident last year. Photo / Ben Tomsett

Bus driver Christopher Kitto, who witnessed the events, gave evidence this morning.

He said he noticed Taana-McLaren because he had seen him at the bus hub before.

When the defendant exited another bus, the witness described Taana-McLaren calling out and gesturing to the boy, who appeared to “not want a bar of it”.

Kitto said it appeared the older boy was “spoiling for a fight”.

The trial is set down for 18 days.

Ben Tomsett is a Multimedia Journalist for the New Zealand Herald, based in Dunedin.

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