Waitemata Police are praising the actions of a group of young men who came to the aid of a woman who was being attacked in New Lynn last night.
At around 9.30pm last night, the young woman was waiting in her car at the traffic lights on the corner of Hugh Brown and Great North Road, when a man she didn’t know came up and tried to open her door.
She managed to drive off as the lights turned green and pulled over up the road to call Police. As she was on the phone though the man came up to the car again and managed to open the door. He then allegedly assaulted the victim, punching her in the head and grabbing her by the throat.
A group of 8 friends were nearby in an internet café on Great North Road. They heard the victim’s screams and the sound of a car horn. They ran outside, saw the struggle going on in the car, and ran to help. The offender saw them and ran away. The men quickly organised between themselves for one man to stay with the young lady, another man followed the offender and called Police, and another went and got the rest of their friends from the café for back-up.
The group then managed to chase the offender and tackled him to the ground. They detained him until Police arrived.
The 22 year-old man was charged with assault with intent to rob, and will appear in the Waitakere District Court today.
“These guys have done a fantastic job and we cannot praise them enough. Because this matter is now before the courts we can’t go into great detail but there’s no doubt that without the help of these men, this incident would have ended in a different way” says Inspector Scott Webb, Area Commander, Waitakere Police .
“The way they managed to co-ordinate themselves, call Police, assist the victim and detain the offender was very impressive and we’ll be looking at a way to formally recognise their efforts. This was a very frightening, random situation and I am sure the public will be reassured that the alleged offender has been arrested and put before the courts” says Inspector Webb.
The victim was incredibly shaken and is being supported by Police and Victim Support. She was taken to Waitakere Hospital for a check-up and is recovering at home with facial bruising, abrasions to her neck and a sore back.
ENDS
Beth Bates/Waitemata Police