Children egged on to fight in street by teens in Port Augusta, SA
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‘Disgusting’ moment two 7-year-olds are goaded into fighting each other on a suburban street in the middle of the night
- Two young men were forced to fight each other by a gang of teenagers
- Stripped to the waist, the boys, about seven years old, prepared to fight
- South African Prime Minister Peter Malinauskas said he was “alarmed” by the video.
Two boys of around seven years old were filmed fighting with each other while a gang of teenagers goaded them on in a scene that one witness said was “disgusting to watch”.
The scene of the confrontation unfolded at around 11:30pm Monday at Stokes Terrace in the South Australian city of Port Augusta, 309km northwest of the state capital, Adelaide.
The video shows the two boys, stripped to the waist, facing each other exchanging blows.
A group of older children, some armed with metal poles, are seen forcing them to beat each other, while others can be heard laughing and shouting.
Locals watched in horror, as a woman filming from across the street is heard saying: ‘someone’s got to get here now or these kids are going to kill each other.’
Immediately after speaking, one boy was knocked to the ground and the other began to kick him.
The disturbing fight went on for more than five minutes, witnesses said.
Witness Kirara Hill said 9News Adelaide it was terrifying to hear “the way they were rooting for him and making that ‘ooh, ooh, ohh’ breath noise too.”
Another neighbour, Garnett Brady, said: “It was actually disgusting to watch because I have a couple of little kids myself, about the same age.”
“And I thought it might have been our kids doing that.”
Some among the gang of youths encouraging the boys to fight also filmed the violent fight, laughing and shouting as they did so.
The two children (pictured to the right), stripped to the waist and framed against each other.
South Australian Prime Minister Peter Malinauskas was “alarmed” when he heard about what happened in Port Augusta.
“Actively encouraging inappropriate behavior, particularly acts of violence among young people, that’s not right,” he said Tuesday.
But locals said youth violence in the city is all too common.
“This is what we deal with in Port Augusta and at Stokes Terrace, every night,” said Ms. Hill.
South Australian Prime Minister Peter Malinauskas (pictured) was alarmed when he heard about what had happened in Port Augusta.
The terrifying sight of children being urged to fight has sparked outrage and calls for more to be done to protect children.
“What this kind of activity suggests is that we’re not investing enough in trying to stop these crimes from happening in the first place,” said victims’ advocate Michael O’Connell.
Police attended the scene, but when they arrived, the fight was over. They dispersed the group, but no one was arrested.
Residents said they fear that if the authorities do not take tougher action, the violence will continue.