Beaten-up teen fears going out
A 14-year-old boy who was violently assaulted by teenagers twice within a month is speaking out to raise awareness of the issue.
New Brighton teenager Blayke, who did not want to have his last name published out of fear for his safety, has endured two beatings, fled a shopping centre and had a youth try to steal his sneakers.
Crime expert Dr Jarrod Gilbert said while youth crime, including assaults, was static long-term, there has been a spike since the Covid-19 pandemic for reasons that aren’t entirely clear.
Police data supports Gilbert’s analysis, showing a 15% increase in acts intended to cause injury in the year ended May 2021 between youths aged 10 to 19 – rising by 1093 recorded incidents to 8388.
However, numbers stabilised in the year ended May 2022, with a 1.3% decrease in the same age group to 8275.
Still in shock, Blayke told Stuff how he ended up stumbling home on July 30 after he was jumped and assaulted for money.
Earlier that evening he and a friend caught a bus from The Palms Shopping Centre, before getting off on Mairehau Rd at 9.30pm.
The pair estimated they had walked only three minutes towards Blayke’s home when a black car pulled up, full of young men around the ages of 15-17.
Blayke says three of the teens got out and two proceeded to assault the boys, making it clear they wanted money. He believed they were drunk.
He was kicked in his right eye and hit between his nose and mouth, while his friend was kicked multiple times.
They took $20 from Blayke’s friend and the $7 worth of coins he had in his own pocket – an amount he struggles to reconcile with the severity of the violence that took place.
With his friend helping to hold him up, he managed to get home.
His mother Jacinta knew immediately something was wrong when she saw how pale he
was. Blayke broke down in shock and recounted his ordeal.
She immediately called an ambulance, due to concerns he had broken his nose.
‘‘It was the scariest thing I’ve ever experienced in my life as a parent.’’
The ambulance took him to Christchurch Hospital, where police visited him to take a statement.
Over a week later, Blayke was still in pain and unable to breathe through one nostril – and it’s not the first time he’s been left nursing injuries after a large group of teenagers assaulted him. A similar incident took place when he got off a bus at New Brighton on July 9 to attend the Matariki fireworks.
Both assaults have made him fearful. He is now scared to go to certain areas of Christchurch, including Papanui or Mairehau – even in daylight.
The quietly spoken teen believes his small size makes him vulnerable and said many of his friends had also been randomly assaulted, even when they were in a group.
‘‘I’m really scared to go out, especially within my own neighbourhood.’’
During the school holidays Blayke was chased out of a large shopping centre by aggressive youths and someone tried to steal the shoes off his feet at the Christchurch Bus Exchange in the central city.
He believes violence has increased in recent months and both he and his mum think social media platforms like TikTok are part of the problem, although he’s not sure that the last attack was filmed.
Gilbert also believes social media is a factor in some incidents, with teenagers seeking quasi fame, saying it spoke to the immaturity and lack of criminal nous of youths involved.
However, he believes youth violence and ram raids will not be in the headlines in 18 months’ time, because the period since Covid-19 had given rise to a ‘‘strange situation’’ that might not be a long-term trend.
In the meantime, Jacinta continued to be concerned and alleges youths had recently been seen carrying hammers in Parklands. She worried one of these attacks will result in a serious or lifethreatening injury.
Subdued, Blayke no longer wants to leave the house.
‘‘That just saddens me so much,’’ Jacinta said.
‘‘He doesn’t even feel safe to go out with his friends.’’
Blayke decided to share his story to ‘‘put the word out there’’ so that others are aware of the issue.
A police spokesperson confirmed Blayke’s assault and said they were making further inquiries.
The spokesperson said ‘‘three or four’’ males got out of a car and assaulted two young males, before taking money from them.
‘‘I’m really scared to go out, especially within my own neighbourhood.’’ Blayke