Teens ‘hyena’ attack
Bashing not isolated as youth crime surges
A Coolangatta retail worker was bashed and had his head stomped into the pavement by a group of teens who attacked him like “a pack of hyenas”.
Concrete Lines Skate Store manager Les Graue said the teenagers were yelling and swearing outside his shop in the Strand arcade on Monday evening when he confronted them.
“I just said ‘guys cut it out’ and they were like, ‘What you gonna do c***’,” Mr Graue said.
“He (a teen) got in my face so I’ve pushed him back. Then the punches started flying.”
CCTV from inside the store captured the violent bashing as the retail manager was repeatedly punched and knocked to the ground. He was kicked at least four times while down, before one of the teens appeared to stomp his head into the footpath.
“I was concussed after that. They were just like a pack of hyenas,” he said.
Police and emergency services arrived at the store within 20 minutes but the teens were gone. Mr Graue was taken to hospital.
A spokeswoman for the
Concrete Lines Skate Store manager
Queensland Police Service said the incident was under investigation and no arrests had been made.
But Mr Graue said this incident was not isolated and that Coolangatta was suffering a surge in youth crime.
“They come here terrorising the centre, throwing food and objects over the third floor down at customers” he said.
“Recently they turned all of the water hoses on and flooded Woolworths, it destroyed all of their fridges and airconditioning. They did the same thing at a college down the road.”
On Saturday night Mr Graue said a young boy was bashed by teenagers on Griffith Street outside Subway. He said they stole his Nike shoes.
The escalation in violence and crime at the hands of juvenile criminals is hurting businesses and driving customers away, according to the skate shop manager.
Currumbin MP Laura Gerber said the footage of the bashing was “shocking” and believed her community was no longer feeling safe.
“I am speaking to police in our community and they are working as hard as they can,” she said.
“Coolangatta is being hijacked by youth crime because the Labor government made a decision nine years ago to water down the laws.”