KEY POINTS:
Public response to a story on the Herald has given police new leads in the hunt for the man who brutally bashed 85-year-old Eric Brady at the back of the Papatoetoe RSA.
Detective Sergeant Shaun Vickers said police now had more security camera images and a better idea of the attacker's actions before Wednesday's attack, which left the war veteran with serious facial injuries.
"People have rung up as a result of reading the Herald, saying, 'Hey, the description of the person who was in the Herald was hanging around earlier at the Papatoetoe library'."
As a result of the tips, police have found new film of the man hanging around the library.
They have also found closed-circuit TV images of him at the front entrance to the Papatoetoe RSA before the attack.
This is in addition to images captured at the back of the RSA, which show the wanted man walking across the carpark and trying to drag Mr Brady from his white Toyota Sprinter hatchback car about 8.30pm.
The attack was so powerful and vicious that Mr Brady's car could be seen rocking before he was flung from the driver's seat and across the carpark.
The wanted man then tried to start the car, but fled after being unable to disable the immobiliser.
Mr Vickers said the man in both sets of images was a Maori or Pacific Islander, of thin or athletic build, and wearing a black or dark coloured top, white trainers and black shorts.
Before attacking Mr Brady, he had removed the dark top to reveal a white basketball top with NO 13 and a name on the back.
Last night, Mr Brady remained in Middlemore Hospital after having surgery yesterday afternoon for multiple injuries, including broken jaw bones.
His daughter, Joanne O'Rourke, who has been at his bedside since he was admitted to hospital, said the reality of the attack had only just started to sink in.
"It's a mindless thing. It shouldn't need to happen in this sort of society," she said.
Stepson Gary Brunton said Mr Brady was was doing "pretty well" considering his age and the fact that "he got bashed pretty severely".
Mr Brunton said Mr Brady's life had revolved around bowling and the RSA since his wife died about five years ago.
"Eric is the kind of guy that if you had asked for a lift he would have given one."
Mr Brady is a member of the Papatoetoe RSA Bowling Club and the Papatoetoe RSA.
He served in World War II as navigator on Lancaster bombers.
CAN YOU HELP?
* Ring the Counties Manukau crime squad on (09) 261-1321
