A teenage girl was drenched in blood after being bashed by a stranger at a Rotorua bus stop this week.
Tashita Morey said her daughter was ganged up on by a group of girls at a bus stop opposite the Rotorua Library on Tuesday.
Morey said the attack was unprovoked and her daughter had never met the girls before.
"She is a good girl, an intermediate student who was beaten by another girl from high school, surrounded by a bunch of others," Morey said in a Facebook post on the day of the attack.
"My daughter has no idea why or who these girls are!"
Morey described the attack as "a parent's worst nightmare".
"My babies come home telling me stories about these things happening to others while they wait for their bus. And today it happened to her," she said.
"It's horrible as working parents it's our only means of transportation home from school."
Morey said her daughter went straight to the police station after the confrontation to report the attack.
Morey, sharing bloodied photos from the aftermath of the beating, said she was doing so to raise awareness about the issue.
"This is what can go on at the bus stop, outside Rotorua Public Library for our tamariki.
"It breaks my heart to know that our babies aren't safe to wait for the bus home at the Rotorua Public Library."
Rotorua prevention manager Insp Phil Gillbanks said a report was received about the assault involving two young people on Haupapa St.
"We are supporting the victim and their whānau, and the other person has been referred to the youth services process.
"Police and the wider community will not tolerate this kind of violent behaviour.
"We are actively working with our community partners to ensure the area remains safe and any anti-social behaviour [is] avoided."
Rotorua Mayor Tania Tapsell responded to the assault on Thursday afternoon, calling on the Minister of Police to "urgently increase Police resource in Rotorua".
"The assault near a bus stop earlier this week is deeply distressing and completely unacceptable," she said.
Tapsell said the offender has been identified through the council's CCTV footage.
"We want to reassure the community that public spaces are safe and we will be introducing further safety initiatives within the inner city over the next few months."
She stressed how everyone should feel safe when using community facilities and that work will be done alongside the regional council, which manage the buses.
"Increased Police visibility, resourcing and responsiveness must be a priority for Rotorua."
In the meantime, Morey has launched a Givealittle page for her daughter as she recovers from the "traumatic" experience.
"I will keep her home for the next week preparing her to go back to school feeling safe," she said. "I have been asked by [the] community and people all around NZ to do a give a little page so she is able to get some self-care and some 'me time.'
"Thank you, NZ for all the supportive messages and calls that we have received."
