Shots at Chch park as gang trouble flares

Press, 12 August 1985, Page 1

Shots at Chch park as gang trouble flares

By

JEFF HAMPTON

Shots were fired at a Christchurch park on Saturday as rivalry between two gangs spilt on to a rugby league field.

A woman gang member who was allegedly assaulted appears to have been the only casualty in the incident, which started about 1.10 p.m. at Macfarlane Park, Shirley. She was treated at Christchurch Hospital and discharged. Onlookers said the trouble was between members of the Black Power and Mongrel Mob gangs, who were spectators at the premier B grade match between Woolston and Shirley. The police armed offenders squad was called to the , park but was not needed. One gang member was down on his knees, pointing a rifle with a telescopic sight at rival gang members, said a member of the Shirley Rugby League Club who declined to be named. “Their cars were driving round — it was an all-out melee,” he said. As the fighting started, gang members pulled weapons from their jackets and one man retrieved a firearm from behind a hedge. The man said that gang cars were driven at other vehicles “just like a jousting tournament. They were firing more shots as the cars were going past,” he said. Pitchforks, a shotgun, softball bats, and several rifles were used in the

brawl. A woman gang member was given a “Liverpool kiss,” a vicious head butt, and then hit on the head with a rifle butt, said the man. Another man who was at

the ground said that four shots were fired from a shotgun, probably into the air. Gang members fled in vehicles after the shooting, he said. The Christchurch police later arrested a man, aged 28, and he will appear in the District Court today charged with assault. Further charges, including a firearms-related one, might be laid against him, said Detective Inspector Jim Millar. Detectives have seized a number of firearms, including a shotgun and a .22 rifle. Mr Millar declined to say where the police had found the firearms. Police inquiries are continuing into the incident, and Mr Millar says detectives would talk to at least one other person about the trouble. Canterbury Rugby League officials are shocked. “The emergency committee of the Canterbury Rugby

League views with grave concern the incident at Macfarlane Park, particularly in relation to the innocent bystanders drawn into it,” said the secretary of the Canterbury league, Mr M. A. Underwood. “The board of control will be discussing the matter at its weekly meeting tonight. Our policy is that clubs are responsible for the behaviour of their players and spectators.” Officials from the Woolston and Shirley clubs are expected to attend the meeting this evening. The Woolston premier B team has two members of the Black Power gang and the Shirley team has a Mongrel Mob member. Spokesmen for both clubs said yesterday that the players were long-standing club members, not troublemakers. “It’s the old story — you can pick your players but you can’t pick your spectators,” said a member of the

Shirley club. At least four shots were fired in the melee, onlookers said. According to a member of the Woolston Rugby League Club, the trouble began about halfway through the first half. Gang members had driven their vehicles on to the park, although this was forbidden. There were about 20 Black Power gang members and two car-loads of Mongrel Mob members. A member of one gang armed with a softball bat was seen walking behind the dead-ball line. He was approached by members of a rival gang and a confrontation resulted. Weapons were produced, fights started, and shots were fired. Spectators and soccer players on other grounds at the park ran for shelter. The referee of the league match called all players into the centre of the field. One man said that he

sought shelter behind a shed at the end of the park and found about 20 others there, watching the fights. Order was restored when the police arrived and the gang members had driven away. A nearby soccer match was abandoned, but the league match resumed. The Mongrel Mob member, who played for Shirley left the ground after the

fighting started. Relations between the two gangs have been strained since a fatal stabbing in the public bar of a Christchurch hotel in March. Since then, the two groups have “niggled” at one another. One man said that some members of the Black Power gang had recently moved into a house close to Macfarlane Park, which is the home ground of the Shirley club.