Broadcaster’s two sons attacked within three months
Shocked authorities will investigate an attack on broadcaster Barry Soper’s son in Wellington, just three months after his other son was stabbed in the city’s CBD.
The Newstalk ZB political editor told the Herald his son Hugh was attacked on a walking track near Karori just after midnight on Thursday morning.
The 21-year-old has no memory of the attack, which left him with a fractured skull and brain bleed, a broken eye socket, and possibly a broken collar bone and rib.
“He was on a walking track going home from town in Wellington to Highbury last night and he suspects he was jumped because his cellphone was stolen,” Soper said.
“The first thing he can remember is the flashing lights of the police car and an officer shining a torch at him.”
Wellington City Council spokesman Richard MacLean said the council was devastated to hear about the second attack on one of Soper’s sons.
“But this is the first we’ve heard about it and given the very suburban and unusual location for the assault, we will be talking to the police and we will probably want to have a chat to Barry and his son”.
MacLean said the council “hoped like heck” there had not been any sudden upsurge in violent attacks across Wellington.
Soper said Hugh, the youngest of five children, called him from the hospital first thing yesterday morning and the broadcaster had been by his son’s side ever since.
When Soper spoke to the Herald yesterday afternoon, Hugh was having his second CT scan. It confirmed Hugh had a skull fracture.
“But he is going to be okay,” Soper said.
The incident follows another attack in July when Soper’s other son, Henry, was stabbed on a night out in Wellington CBD.
Henry, 23, was leaving a bar in Courtenay Place in the early hours of July 28 when he got into an argument with a man he didn’t know, who is alleged to have pulled a knife.
Soper said Henry put his arm up to fend off the blow but the knife went through his forearm, slicing nerves and tendons and damaging an artery.
Bleeding heavily, Henry was taken to hospital.
Soper did not believe the attacks on his two sons were linked. “This was clearly just a random attack,” he said of last night’s attack.“He didn’t even see it coming, it just happened”.
Soper said having two sons attacked in a matter of months was a terrible thing for a parent to deal with.
“It is terrible because as a father you can’t do anything and you can’t be with young men 24/7.
“I have never confronted violence before or been subjected to it, until this year, so it goes to show we live in a society that is not the old land of milk and honey that it once was.”
He said despite the injuries, Hugh was coping “pretty good”.
His other son, Henry, was also still coming right after the July stabbing.
A 37-year-old man has been charged with wounding with intent to injure in relation to the stabbing.
Soper said he had not yet talked to police about last night’s attack.
Police said they could not provide information last night.