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A teenage boy was assaulted and robbed of his shoes while waiting for friends at an east Auckland shopping complex.
The victim’s mother contacted the Times following the incident, which happened at Hoyts Cinemas at Botany Town Centre on April 6.
The woman, who wants to remain anonymous, says her 13-year-old son was sitting inside the foyer at about 11.55am when he was attacked by a group of people in behaviour she labels “disgusting”.
“[He was] assaulted, punched in the face, dragged across the floor of the Hoyts Botany movie theatre, kicked in the neck and had his shoes wrestled off his body by five youths … when going to watch a movie with his friends.”
The woman says security at the cinema did not phone police but did trespass the offenders and take photos of them to pass to police.
She phoned police when she arrived and was told one of the offenders left the scene wearing the shoes stolen from her son.
Counties Manukau East Police area prevention manager, Inspector Rakana Cook, says officers responded to a report of an alleged assault at Botany Town Centre at about midday last Saturday.
“One person received minor injuries and did not require medical treatment,” Cook says.
“Police located the group of offenders a short time later in Beachlands and they were taken into custody without issue.
“A 15-, 14-, and 11-year-old were referred to Youth Aid.
“We understand how distressing incidents like these can be for victims and their whanau and we want to reassure our community we take these situations very seriously.”
Cook says east Auckland is a “vibrant community” and police understand the public’s concerns.
“Police continue to utilise all tools available to hold youth offending accountable as part of the Youth Justice system.
“We will continue to identify interventions and build collaborative relationships that will help this community grow and experience continued reductions in crime.”
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