The incident occurred at the Mangere Town Centre after school hours and outside school premises, Marcellin College Board chair Bernadette Tovio (pictured) confirmed.

Police are investigating.

Cowardly and senseless

At least 10 to 15 Mangere College pupils were reportedly involved in the unprovoked 12 February attack.

In a statement condemning the incident, Tovio called it a "senseless and cowardly act of violence ... we will not tolerate any form of bullying or harassment in our school community.

"Our akonga (student) sustained serious injuries and was taken to the hospital, where they were cared for.

"We have been in contact with their whanau/family and are providing them with all the support they need."

Action taken and underway

Immediately after the attack, Marcellin's board and management increased security measures to ensure student/akonga and staff/kaiako safety.

The Ministry of Education was also informed of the incident.

Right now, Tovio says the Mangere College board chair, the acting Marcellin College principal, police and local authorities are working together to resolve the matter.

At Marcellin College "we are proud of our school's culture of respect, diversity and inclusion, and we will not let this incident undermine our values, Marist Pillars and achievements" Tovio says.

She wants anyone who witnessed the incident or has any information to contact the police or the school as soon as possible.

Counselling and care

Marcellin College says it is providing counselling and support services to any students/akonga or staff/kaiako who may have been affected by the incident.

Down the road at Mangere College, acting principal Melegaleuu Ah Sam has written to the school community informing caregivers the school is aware of the incident and the posts on social media.

"We would like to assure our community that we are working closely with the other college and the police to identify those involved and to resolve these matters as soon as possible" she wrote.

Community condemns

South Auckland community leader Alf Filipaina has also condemned the brutal attack, labelling the perpetrators "a bunch of cowards".

He noted all the students were from the same community - even if they went to different schools. "Whether you're from Marcellin or not, that doesn't make any difference" he said.

The bystanders who watched and did nothing don't deserve respect, he added.

"I just want to acknowledge the people who actually looked after the boy [and drove him to hospital]."

Filipaina says there are programmes like Genesis Youth Trust to help young people.

At the same time, he thinks police should charge the attackers if they're of age. "There has to be some accountability."

Agencies need to work with the schools to prevent a recurrence, he says.

Source

• NZ Herald
• NZ Herald
• NZ Herald