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6 stabbed in Aussie brawl
SIX teenagers, including a 17-year-old girl, were stabbed during a violent street brawl at Sydney's Bondi early yesterday. More than 40 people were involved in the brawl, which began after a fight between two rival girl gangs. The injured, all men in their late teens and early 20s, had multiple wounds to the neck, legs, back and arms. Five were taken to the Prince of Wales Hospital and one to St Vincent's Hospital. Two were seriously injured, police said. It was the first serious violent incident on Sydney's beaches since the December 11 Cronulla riot, prompting claims that police were not adequately resourced to deal with the threat. The six were injured after one group, described as being of Middle Eastern or Mediterranean appearance and armed with knives and bottles, set upon the other near the Bondi Pavilion about midnight. Eastern Suburbs local area commander Superintendent Mark Walton said a 12-detective strike force had been set up to investigate the assaults. Despite concerns about violence on Sydney's beaches in the wake of the December racial unrest, police said yesterday it was unlikely the Bondi attack was racially motivated. Waverley mayor Mora Main said she was deeply concerned about the attack. "We work co-operatively with the police all the time, and nothing like this has happened for a couple of years, so we are very concerned," Ms Main said. Late yesterday, police were questioning two men over the incident. One of the teenage victims yesterday described how he was stabbed with scissors in his eyebrow and lips after trying to break up a fight between a group of girls. "There were about 10 girls who started pushing one another around, punching and fighting," he said. "The next thing we knew, the guys just went for us and suddenly all these other guys jumped over the wall and joined in too." The victim said one man had been stabbing at people indiscriminately. Another victim underwent surgery yesterday at St Vincent's Hospital to treat the stab wounds in his leg and hands. He said he and his friends were having a night out drinking when the violence erupted. "We were just hanging out at Bondi, having a few drinks and chatting," he said. "There were about 10 or 15 of them attacking us. In the end, I looked at my leg and my arm and there was blood coming down." The fight lasted about 10 minutes, amid a confusion of noise and screams. A third victim was stabbed in his kidney and a fourth in the leg. Another victim was stabbed in his lower back and leg during the brawl. He was rushed to Prince of Wales Hospital and was yesterday recovering at home Posted by: lotp 2006-02-04 |
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