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Police have charged a man with assault after brutal attack which left a South Auckland teenager in a critical condition.
Tuatu Cecil, 19, is in Middlemore Hospital with head injuries after he was attacked by a group in Papakura about 2am on Sunday.
Police found him unconscious after responding to reports of a group of people fighting near netball courts on Smiths Ave.
Detective Inspector Mark Gutry said a 20-year-old Papakura man was last night arrested and charged with assaulting Mr Cescil. He will appear in the Papakura District Court this morning.
Mr Gutry said police would oppose bail.
"We expect to make further arrests and further charges in relation to this investigation" he said.
Mr Gutry earlier said police had been busy interviewing people in the area where the attack happened. He said Mr Cecil had been attacked after a fight or altercation between two groups of people.
He was walking home with friends after leaving a house where they had been at a party but became separated from the group.
Police did not know what the fight was about and were also investigating a couple of incidents on the way home involving Mr Cecil and his friends, he said.
The group involved in the assault were young, in their late teens and early 20s.
"We're still looking into whether this is youth gangs, we certainly haven't confirmed it at this stage." Alcohol and drugs were involved, he said.
Mr Cecil remained in a critical condition with "significant head injuries" and there were serious concerns for his health.
Police expect to lay charges today in relation to another incident in South Auckland at the weekend. Mr Gutry said they were interviewing a 24-year-old Mangere man after a 15-year-old Polynesian youth, walking on Windrush Close in Mangere, was shot in the leg in a drive-by shooting. He said the victim was recovering well.
- NZPA
