An Auckland councillor has condemned a “vicious” bus attack by a group of youths, calling for stronger safety measures and swifter intervention from authorities.
On Friday, a video appearing to show a woman being assaulted on a bus began circulating on social media.
The young men are seen surrounding and threatening the woman, who asks them: “Why did it take three of you to hit one guy?”
Moments later, the footage becomes chaotic as one of the youths, dressed in a white singlet and dark trousers appears to strike the woman multiple times while another passenger yells “Get off”.
Councillor Josephine Bartley told the Herald she has contacted Auckland Transport (AT) chief executive Stacey Van Der Putten for more details, questioning whether the bus driver had reported the incident.
She said there needs to be quicker action between bus drivers, bus companies and police, and would like to know whether there was live CCTV on the route involved.
“This is not a youth problem, this is violent behaviour,” she said. “Those boys need to be dealt with.
“The only way to deal with this is police – that’s not just kid’s playing up.”
An AT spokesperson told the Herald it has CCTV footage of the incident, and the driver “followed protocols by radioing for police assistance and pulling over safely to allow passengers to exit”.
“We are following up with tagged passengers to check on their wellbeing,” they said.
Police said they were aware of the video and were looking into what further inquiries could be made.
The footage quickly spread online, fuelling anger that appears to have spilled into a retaliatory confrontation at Glen Innes Train Station on Sunday afternoon.
A new video appears to show one of the teens allegedly involved in the bus incident being forced to strip off his pants and do push-ups by a group on their way to the Tour De Hoods event.
The person who filmed the confrontation told the Herald he wanted to teach the teen a lesson.
“We got off the train and noticed him and just hit him up about it,” he said.
“We just thought making him do stuff that would humiliate him was better than hitting him.”
He said he regretted reports another group later allegedly assaulted the teen and stole his shoes.
After allowing the teen to put his pants back on, several riders could be heard telling him to “make the right choices, my bro”.
Tour De Hoods organiser and youth advocate Kimami Ngaluafe said the confrontation could have been handled in “a better manner”, but believed the youths involved were reacting out of anger and disappointment over the alleged assault of an elderly woman.
“The boys reacted out of emotion and I could definitely hear their pain,” he said. “They feel like, if that was their grandma, how would they feel?”
Ngaluafe said he could not condone the violence but he believed a tough-love approach could help the teen reflect on his actions.
“I feel for him. He’s young, he’s navigating life,” he said.
“It’s harsh, but I feel like it’s going to do him some good. I hope it changes the way he treats people and the elderly.
Ngaluafe acknowledged the teen being humiliated online would likely affect his mental health, but said he hoped he would use the experience to learn about respect.
The AT spokesperson told the Herald safety ambassadors supported by transport officers have been deployed to the affected routes and will remain over the next few weeks to reassure passengers.
Anyone with information is urged to contact police via 105 and quote file number 260523/2382.
Take your Radio, Podcasts and Music with you
Get the iHeart App
Get more of the radio, music and podcasts you love with the FREE iHeart app. Scan the QR code to download now.
Download from the app stores
Stream unlimited music, thousands of radio stations and podcasts all in one app. iHeart is easy to use and all FREE
