Random city assaults: 'He just punched me in the face'

Hassan Sherif, pictured, said he hadn't even looked at his attacker before he was punched in the face. Photo / Jason Dorday

A one-armed man went on a violent rampage around central Auckland yesterday, committing a string of random assaults on Auckland's busy city streets just before noon.

Hassan Sherif was attacked as he stood outside the City Convenience Plus store on Wellesley St, talking on his mobile phone.

"He just came up to me and punched me in the face," Sherif , 33, said. "I think he was a crazy person. He just walked towards me and hit me."

Sherif said he didn't do anything to provoke the attack. "I didn't even look at him."

Mark Ansley, who owns El Faro tapas restaurant in Elliott St's Elliott Stables, saw the assault on Sherif after parking his car. He called the police and followed the man, whom he recognised, while he waited for police to arrive.

Ansley, 29, said the man turned on a toddler, an elderly man and a young woman after attacking Sherif.

"He grabbed a Tommy Tippee cup from a pram and threw it at the kid. He just missed his head," said Ansley. "

Police arrived but lost track of the offender.

Ansley said the man often caused trouble around the area. " I've seen him harassing people before," said Ansley. He's just one of the many."

A shift sergeant from the Auckland Central police station said he believed the man had been arrested.