The aunt of an 11-year-old victim of a violent assault widely shared on social media says her niece is too traumatised to go out.
She was one of three girls attacked by another group of older girls in Pukekohe last week.
Police have seen the video of the attack and said they're taking the offending very seriously, but the aunt said they didn't contact the family until Tuesday, which is a week after it was reported.
Nine days ago in the centre of Pukekohe, three year 7 girls were cornered by older girls who assaulted them.
"My niece was one of the girls. She was brutally hit. These are not hair-pulling incidents, these are closed fists. These are absolutely brutal shots to these girls. These girls are 11," she told Newshub.
She said one of the victims said the girls had been wrongly accused of taking photos of the older group.
Newshub has agreed to keep the woman anonymous. Although she said the family is aware her niece's identity could be revealed by her talking, they believe it's important to speak out.
"These are not bold, bolshy girls, they're all quite shy, polite, lovely girls and now they're scared to go out," she said.
The aunt said all three have extensive injuries.
"She was quite badly bruised in various places along her body, she had bruising along her face, one of the other girls has got a chipped tooth, black eyes, all sorts of issues with headaches and delayed concussions," she said.
To compound the physical hurt, there's the emotional trauma.
"Anger was the first thing," she said. "It's sad for the girls who've been assaulted. I actually feel sad for the girls who've done it. I mean, what is causing this?"
Family and friends are offering support to the girl and the aunt said the whole community has poured out its love and contempt for the perpetrators.
"The girls are old enough to know right and wrong, I mean, young children know right from wrong."
What has angered many about the video is that one girl gets dragged back into the frame by her hair.
"That's them playing up to the camera. You know, they're doing this just to that camera, looking at us," said Andy Baker, Franklin local board chair and ex-police officer.
"I guess that's the advent of what social media has done. It creates the opportunity for people to grandstand and do these appalling acts thinking it's cool."
The aunt said she "feels mortified" for the girls.
"For my niece, I just can't imagine being the person in that video and having everyone watch it as they are."
It's not the only video of this nature to emerge from Pukekohe on Tuesday. In another video, a girl is assaulted outside a school that has no link to the victims or perpetrators. The local high school Pukekohe High said none of the young people in either video are students there.
Baker said 100 children from Pukekohe have been identified as being outside the school system.
Newshub understands the perpetrators in the town centre attack are around the age of 13 years old.
"Certainly not good, but you're seeing that age being talked about commonly now with ram raids and other assaults and other really anti-social behaviour," Baker said. "We hear this age a lot and that's a national problem."
Locals are angry and shocked not just at the violence they've witnessed but because the murals one of the fights was filmed in front of were commissioned as part of an effort to bring the town together. Instead, they've become the backdrop to a few moments of violence.
In a statement, police said they are extremely concerned by the violence shown in the videos and ask the community to cease sharing them any further.
Police are following positive lines of enquiry in relation to both matters and supporting the victims and their families.
They're reassuring the public they take this offending very seriously, and yet the aunt said they reported the incident on September 27 but the family heard nothing until Tuesday - a week later - only after the video emerged on social media.
"The names have been passed on, the video has been passed on, and the parents have not yet heard from police until today."
Newshub has told the police about the family's concerns and they said they're looking into it.
