A person has been critically injured and four others arrested following a mass brawl involving dozens on Auckland’s Karangahape Rd in the early hours of this morning.
Police received multiple reports of a mass disorder and people fighting on the popular central Auckland street just after 3.30am on Sunday.
Officers arrived and dispersed the crowd of around 50 people.
St John said an ambulance and a manager responded to the incident at 4.31am.
“Our crews assessed and treated one patient who was transported to Auckland City Hospital in a critical condition.”
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Police said four people had been arrested in relation to the disorder.
The Karangahape Rd and Cobden St intersection was taped off by police on Sunday morning. A forensic examination was taking place, with staff placing cones alongside discarded drink cans and other locations of interest.
‘The whole road turned into a big brawl’
Keith Woodcock, a DJ at a bar on the popular night strip, told 1News there was “fight after fight after fight” when the clubs closed after 3am.
“Just a bit of a brawl started from one of the bars on K Rd. I saw a couple of girls fighting first, and then it sort of got out of hand. People came from everywhere, and cars came from everywhere. The whole road turned into a big brawl.”
He estimated up to 200–300 people were on the street, though not all were fighting.
“Once all the clubs came out, everyone was on the road. It was just fight after fight after fight.”
Woodcock claimed some participants were arriving deliberately to join the fights.
“I saw a car pull up, and a couple of big boys got out ready for it. Ages were around 25 to 40 — no young people, just big boys.”