Armed Teenagers Storm Lynfield College And Attack Student

Stuff.co.nz

"A group of teenagers has stormed West Auckland's Lynfield College and attacked a pupil, apparently after a war of words on the social networking website Bebo.
Witnesses say one of the attackers yelled out the name of an Afghan youth gang during the attack yesterday afternoon, One News reported.
Principal Steve Bovaird said a group of teenagers – not from Lynfield – burst through the door and attacked the pupil in front of other students and their teacher.
The student was punched a number of times and possibly kicked as well but escaped serious injuries.
One of the group had a softball bat and the conflict may stem from harsh words exchanged on the social networking site Bebo.
New Zealand's Afghan community leader Siraj Salarzi said the incident was very disappointing.
The youth should do something better to give the community and the Afghan people a good name, he said.

Up to five of the teenagers involved are students at Mount Roskill Grammar but yesterday was a term holiday and they were not under the school's care.

Officials say the school is limited in how it can punish them."

But it's up to the police to take investigate and take action. How on earth can a group of kids storm a school, attack a pupil in a classroom and be allowed to get away with it? How long before a video of the attack makes its way onto YouTube (as the video of the 'best fight of 2009' at Lynfield did a few days ago - worryingly the teacher seems powerless to stop it)

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This recent assault is bound to re-kindle debates over teen violence and school security and it has already drawn appalling racist comments from people, some of whom can't resist making remarks about the Taliban - see the thread on Yahoo News Boards - "Afghani youth gang attacks student": which has comments like this one. "Who wants these raaaaaagheads in New Zealand let them go back to crushing rocks in their homeland and mutulating women"

This incident has similarities to a brawl that broke out at Hutt Valley High School in February of this year, when a group of adults and young people suspected of belonging to the "Wax Assassins" (a youth gang from Wainuiomata) invaded the school to settle a score with one of its students. Immediately after the fight security at the school was beefed up.

The recent spike in school violence in New Zealand has perversely been attributed to a lack of corporal punishment in schools, rather than an issue which needs to be addressed by the community as a whole.