Gang warfare erupts at jail

Press, 26 December 1984, Page 5

Gang warfare erupts at jail

PA Auckland Prisoners armed with knives fought each other at the maximum security Paremoremo jail when a Christmas Eve film screening erupted into gang warfare. One inmate suffered serious head injuries after repeated kicks, and two others were stabbed as Mongrel Mob and Headhunter gang members battled each other in the gymnasium. Prison officials said that the fight broke out when 51 inmates gathered in the gymnasium at 6 p.m to watch a movie. Before the screening started the members of the two gangs clashed. As fists flew, knives were produced and one man was

stabbed in the chest, puncturing a lung. Another prisoner was stabbed in the chest and abdomen.

At the height of the brawl, a gang member knocked to the ground was repeatedly kicked and stomped on the head, then struck with a wooden object.

He was in a fair condition in the critical-care unit at Auckland Hospital last evening. The two stabbed men were said to be in stable condition in that hospital. Prison officers managed to break up the fight after several minutes, and the police were called.

Inmates in the three standard cell blocks were confined to their cells, where they had their Christmas dinner.

A cell-by-cell search turned up hidden weapons, including sharpened wire, home-made knives, and two straightened butcher hooks. A police spokesman said that crockery and chairs were also used as weapons in the fight. North Shore detectives are investigating. The police spokesman said that the battle seemed to be part of a power struggle at the prison between the gangs. “Gang members stick together in prison; they don’t mix with each other at all,” he said. The superintendent of Paremoremo, Mr Sid Ward, said yesterday that he had segregated prisoners he considered the ringleaders and would restrict contact between the two groups.