One dead, two injured after attacks metres apart

Police in South Auckland may have two murders on their hands after a body was found in a Flat Bush home and a teenager was left in a critical condition in Auckland Hospital following a nearby assault.

The man's body was found in his home, less than 200m from the scene of a street brawl yesterday morning that left two teenagers with serious head injuries. The man, who lived alone in Norrie Smith Ave, Otara, is understood to have died violently, but police say there is nothing to link his death with the brawl, which erupted about 1.45am.

Detective Senior Sergeant Sue Schwalger said police were treating the incidents separately.

"But obviously with the locality and the timing, we're treating them side by side. We've been speaking to a number of witnesses, trying to piece together what's been going on."

She said the brawl started after about 15 to 20 people, mostly teenage boys, used weapons to smash the windows of two cars in a driveway in Penion Drive.

Ms Schwalger could not confirm what weapons were used, but said they were "probably sticks rather than hammers".

As the youths were leaving, they turned their weapons on four or five teenagers who were walking by, she said.

Two of the teenage boys suffered head injuries. An 18-year-old was last night in Auckland City Hospital in a critical condition while the other was in a serious but stable condition in Middlemore Hospital.

It was too early to say if the assault was gang-related, Ms Schwalger said.

"We're looking at 15-20 people and we've also got that many witnesses and local people. We're just trying to work out if they belong to any particular faction or not."

Ms Schwalger said there were a lot of witnesses to the assaults but police could not assume they would quickly find those responsible.

"We're still talking about the middle of the night; we're talking about some people being intoxicated; we're talking about a large group of people doing lots of things.

"It's surprising how much people do see or don't see."

She said police did not know why the group had driven to the Penion Drive house or if they knew the group they attacked.

Police discovered the dead man yesterday afternoon. No name has been released, as police are trying to contact the man's family.