Police on guard for any reprisals after gang fight

Hawera police are on guard for any gang reprisals after a Mongrel Mob member was bashed in the town.

About 20 Black Power members armed with metal pipes and wooden battens set upon the Mongrel Mob member and another man at the town's KFC on Saturday.

Both men received serious injuries.

The brutal confrontation mirrored another in December 2008 when the rival gangs fought a pitched battle with machetes, axes and baseballs bats along South Rd.

Rural Taranaki area commander Inspector Frank Grant said police were trying to calm any tension and prevent attacks in retaliation.

"It [the threat] is always there," Mr Grant said. "You have got family members upset that their loved ones have been dealt to in a bad way, they certainly are not going to be happy."

Mr Grant could not rule out the Mongrel Mob seeking vengeance but police would be doing what they could to ensure there were no reprisals. Police say the two attacks were isolated incidents and a ban on gang patches was not warranted in the town.

"We don't have the problems that they have in Wanganui and other places around the country," Mr Grant said.

South Taranaki District Council Mayor Ross Dunlop said he did not condone gangs or the violence they used but it was better to have only one gang than two.

"I'd be very concerned if the Mongrel Mob were starting to get a foothold in Hawera," he said.

The attack on Saturday was "over the top and totally unacceptable," Mr Dunlop said.

He did not believe a ban on patches was necessary.

Mr Dunlop said he knew the Black Power leaders in the community and did not believe they would start attacking anyone wearing red.

Hawera residents say the gang presence in town is intimidating.

An elderly woman, who lived opposite KFC and didn't want to be named, said she saw people spilling out on to the street and went inside and locked the door. "It was frightening and I hope it doesn't happen again," she said.

Assistant manager at KFC Frank Wilson said customers had been in the store asking about what happened on the weekend and he was concerned it could happen again.

"I'm worried about them [gang members] coming in and hanging around the store trying to guess or find out where the call came from," he said.

- © Fairfax NZ News

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