Fractured jaw, surgery, weeks spent in recovery. One may not expect such an assault from a night out in Dunedin. Unfortunately, on Friday July 8 this very kind of attack took place.
A group of four to five males assaulted a man and a woman around 11:00 – 11:30pm that night, on Princes St near the Octagon and Moray Place. The man suffered a fractured jaw and is now in hospital, while the woman received minor facial cuts and bruises.
Sadly, this story is only one of many to be told. It follows a number of assaults that have taken place in Dunedin over the last month and a half.
In Andersons Bay on July 4, there was a serious assault that left a man unresponsive.
On June 26, the morning after the All Blacks test against Wales in the city, two assaults at opposite ends of the block between the Captain Cook Hotel and the Rob Roy Dairy occurred. One major arrest was issued from these events as a man dressed as a woman was arrested for sexually assaulting another man.
Following a home invasion in Green Island on June 22, a man suffered critical injuries. Earlier in the month on June 19, a woman in North East Valley was smacked on the head with a baseball bat.
Mosgiel was also prone to attacks, one incident occurring in the township on June 16th when four men beat a 45-year old man.
The last serious assault in the Octagon was on June 13, as a man was left with a bleeding face.
These events may be difficult to discuss, but they are important to consider as it is a recurring theme throughout Dunedin nightlife. Like any city, big or small, Dunedin is susceptible to these terrible kinds of attacks.