UPDATE 08 August: Local 1News reports that two of the teenagers have been discharged from hospital, while the third, who was critically injured, remains in hospital. The suspect has been charged with 17 offences.
Three teenagers on a high school cycling club training ride were hospitalised on Wednesday morning after a man driving a stolen car struck their group while fleeing a string of violent incidents in the Auckland suburb of Epsom, New Zealand Police say.
The episode began around 07:05 when a woman out jogging was approached and assaulted without warning at the intersection of Ranfurly Road and Manukau Road. A member of the public who stopped to help her then had their vehicle carjacked by the offender, who drove into several other cars before ploughing into a group of five teenage cyclists on Manukau Road, injuring three.
Auckland City District Commander Superintendent Sunny Patel said the three injured riders were high school-aged boys who were part of a cycling club, “doing something they enjoyed.” One was left in critical condition, another in serious condition, and the third suffered moderate injuries.
“This will be a life-altering event,” Patel said.
The offender then drove into the rear of another vehicle at a nearby petrol station before getting out, crossing the road on foot, and fatally attacking a dog being walked by its owner.
A large police response followed, and officers arrested the 49-year-old suspect on Manukau Road just eight minutes after the first emergency call. Patel described the incident as “extremely confronting to the Epsom community” and said he could not yet comment on whether drugs or a mental health episode were factors.
The cyclists’ school, Auckland Grammar School, said it was “devastated” by the incident, confirming the injured boys were struck during a cycling training ride. The school said counselling and support services were being made available to the wider school community and that it was cooperating fully with the police investigation.
Gran Fondo Daily News will continue to follow the story.
Photo Credit: RNZ/Marika Khabazi
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