A pack of teens confront the boy and his friends outside the Westfield Riccarton shopping centre. Photo / Supplied
Shocking video footage has emerged of a group of teenagers allegedly beating up a 14-year-old and stealing his shoes at a suburban Christchurch shopping mall.
Filmed by one of the assailants, the video was shared on social media as though to boast about what they had done.
In the video, the pack of teens confront the boy and his friends outside the Westfield Riccarton shopping centre entrance through to Pak'nSave.
When he tries to go inside the mall to get away from them, the group follows. One says: "Get him."
They surround him and, after he is repeatedly kicked, he tries to flee.
One of the group catches up and throws him to the ground. The victim then curls up into a fetal position, protecting his head.
He is kicked again while others take his shoes off, and when he tries to defend himself he is pushed down again.
Once the shoes are removed, an offender runs off with them, handing them to another group member who holds them up as he walks outside to the rest of the pack.
"Yeah, we got his shoes boys," can be heard.
It appears the boy's friends try to help him throughout.
The attack allegedly happened about 10pm late last month.
The victim was left humiliated, bruised and missing his shoes.
His mother said the incident was "pretty scary".
"Watching the video, I don't understand why ... there's only one entry into that mall open, why is no one there? Where are security at that time of night?" she stressed.
Westfield Riccarton was unable to respond to questions.
The attack is one of the latest in a rise of youth crime and a trend of posting their crimes to social media, as ram-raiders have typically done.
It comes as the Government announced a $53 million package extending education and employment programmes to thousands more at-risk young people in response to a rise in youth crime.
One of the offenders has been found and charged by police.
"I want to know who the other boys are, I want them charged. It shouldn't just be the one child's fault ... there were six of them, some of them doing worse," she said.
"I think it's only a matter of time that these kids punch someone in the wrong place and someone else's child ends up critically injured, or worse."
Police would not comment on the attack as it is before the Youth Court.
Crime in Riccarton was raised at the Waipuna Halswell-Hornby-Riccarton Community Board meeting on Tuesday.
"It's quite serious," board chairman Mike Mora said.
"There's a gang of up to 30 young people that are creating havoc in that area and chasing people and beating them and kicking them."
He noted it was a regular event around Westfield and the bus exchange.
"It's an act that's making people, not only in Riccarton, but in our ward and the wider community think Riccarton is not a safe place for your kids to go," he said.
Fellow community board member Gamal Fouda said he had been contacted by a lot of people, the majority of whom were middle-aged women who were concerned for their children and for their safety.
The board agreed to seek advice from the police and see what they could do.
- Starnews.co.nz
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