Hamilton parents are being warned to keep their children home on Friday afternoon because a violent street fight is planned.
The brawl, called 'battle of the hoods', is being organised online and "weapons are aloud" (sic), the poster for it said.
The poster, encouraging participants to go "stab for stab", is causing alarm.
"I was absolutely disgusted, saddened and disappointed to see that and, of course, it's gone all over social media," Hamilton Mayor Paula Southgate told Newshub.
The neighbourhoods singled out by those organising the fight are Fairfield, Nawton and Melville, which are home to some of the country's lowest socio-economic communities.
These particular neighbourhoods have seen violent brawls between youths before.
"Yeah, it's pretty common," Te Whare O Te Ata Fairfield Community Centre's program coordinator Kataraina Berryman said.
That's why local leaders are urging parents to make sure students avoid the central bus depot where the fight is scheduled so they can get home safely after school on Friday.
"They could end up in the wrong place at the wrong time, and that's our concern - we don't want any of our kids hurt," Berryman told Newshub.
Schools are on high alert, with Sacred Heart Girls' College emailing parents on Thursday morning.
The school said they've talked to police and there'll be a strong presence in the city tomorrow and over the weekend.
"I will be at the Bus Depot tomorrow to help ensure our wonderful students get home without incident," the deputy principal said.
Police told Newshub they can't share details of their plans in Hamilton on Friday, but said there will be police deployed to the area and they'll be actively monitoring the situation.
"They assure me they are taking this very seriously and seeing it as a credible threat they have to manage," Southgate said.
Hamilton is a city that's no stranger to youth crime, with several ram raids in the past year.
"It's not what I want for my city. It's not what Hamiltonians want," Southgate told Newshub.
Promising residents they'll do all they can to keep residents safe on Friday.
