By 1news.co.nz
A Rotorua mother has been left “devastated” after her 13-year-old daughter was left with a bloodied face after repeatedly being punched at a bus stop.
Tashita Morey’s daughter was waiting for a bus outside Rotorua Library going out for lunch with some friends on Tuesday afternoon.
Everything seemed fine, with the teen telling her mum that she’d be fine making it home on her own.
While waiting, Morey said a group of 15 girls, who she didn’t know, approached her daughter “with their phones up” before one of them unleashed a brutal assault.
Morey’s daughter was punched “repeatedly” in the face, leaving her bloodied.
“She said that when she looked at her, she could feel that something wasn’t right. It was just the way that she was looking at her,” she told 1News.
The attack was filmed by bystanders.
“I haven’t watched the video yet, but the police have, and they’ve told me not to.
“They told me it made them feel sick.”
Morey got a call from her daughter at around 4.15pm, crying and incoherent.
“Mum, someone’s bashed me,” Morey recounted her daughter saying.
With her friends, the girl made her way to Fenton Street, just past the police station, where she waited for her mother to arrive.
An off-duty police officer soon arrived, escorting the girls to the police station so pictures could be taken for evidence and get her settled down.
“When the police officer hopped on the phone, he said ‘this is really serious’.”
Upon arriving, Morey said she was “shocked” by the extent of the attack and the injuries her daughter had sustained.
“I felt like I was stabbed in the heart, and the knife was dragged down to my stomach.
“It’s just the worst feeling you can have as a parent.”
It took Morey’s daughter a while to recount what happened “because she was still so dazed”.
Her daughter recounted adults being present during the assault, who watched and did nothing.
“I’m just gutted that no one will stop this kind of behaviour when they’re watching it.
“I know that if I saw something happening, I would try and break it up at least or call the police.”
Her daughter suffered a concussion, split lip, swollen nose, a tender jawline and bumps around her head.
Morey said that while physical injuries will go away in time, the emotional damage the attack caused will take some time to heal.
“She’s just so full of fear at the moment, and she’s sleeping in our bed.”
She said her daughter would normally be comfortable on her own, but following the attack, “she’s clinging to me like a paua”.
“She doesn’t want to go anywhere. She doesn’t want anyone seeing her at the moment.”
Rotorua made headlines last year with many locals saying the city feels unsafe, with Morey saying that, in her view, “Rotorua is not safe anymore”.
“I won’t send my children on public transport ever again. That’s it for me.
“I’ve already made changes with work, and they’ve been so awesome, so I’m able to drop the kids off and pick them up now.”
She wants to see something done so that public transport in the city can feel safer.
However, Morey also praised the kindness of Kiwis across the country, who have reached out to support her whānau.
“It’s lifted up her spirit, she said, ‘Mum, even though that happened, New Zealand is so full of so many people who are lovely and good people’.”
A Giveallittle page has now been set up to help with her daughter’s recovery.
In a statement to 1News, police said they received a report of an assault “involving two young people on Haupapa Street”.
They said the victim and her family are being supported, and another young person has been referred to youth services.
“Police and the wider community will not tolerate this kind of violent behaviour.
“Police are aware of infrequent incidents in the area around the bus stop, and we recognise it is a busy spot, particularly during after-school and commuter periods.
“We are actively working with our community partners to ensure the area remains safe and any anti-social behaviour avoided.”
They are encouraging anyone who sees similar activity to call 111, or 105 after the fact.
