Murupara to 'March for Life'

File photo / Daily Post

Residents of the small Bay of Plenty town of Murupara have had enough of the violence which is killing teenagers and putting the town in the headlines for the wrong reasons.

Tomorrow they will join a "March for Life" and tell feuding gangs in the town the violence must stop.

The march follows the death of Kaine Lewis, 17, the second teenager to die in a gang attack in nine months.

Kaine Lewis was found with serious injuries on the driveway of a Tawa St house early on Saturday morning after a confrontation between Tribesmen and Mongrel Mob gangs.

He was dead when he arrived at Rotorua Hospital.

Police have arrested seven people for participating in organised crime, but had yet to charge anyone with the slaying.

In January this year Jordan Herewini, 15, died after being run down by a vehicle allegedly driven by a gang member now facing a murder charge.

The residents of Murupara and nearby Kaingaroa want the gangs to leave them alone and stop the violence which is giving the town a reputation they say they do not deserve.

Rotorua MP Todd McClay has joined the call for an end to the violence saying the residents were marching for the safety of their young people.

He told Newstalk ZB the gangs would be given a clear message they were not wanted.

Murupara was a small place and a great little town but the gangs had a hold on it, he said.

Mr McClay said gangs targeted young people in small communities and gang leaders were ultimately responsible for the deaths of the two teenagers.

He said parents should stop their children joining gangs.

Murupara resident Lee Tapsell said she did not think it would ever be peaceful in Murupara.

"We need to get the gangs out of here. We need more police," she said yesterday.

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