By Rachel Tiffen
The Kapiti Coast, north of Wellington, has traditionally been a haven for retirees - but recently it's made headlines for alcohol-fuelled violence.
Two young men have lost their lives, and now the sister of one of them is speaking out because she wants the violence to stop.
Aria Strongman-Lintern's 20-year-old brother Sean was killed in a Kapiti carpark early on Saturday morning two weeks ago. She says he didn't go looking for trouble.
“He was really excited,” she says. “It was his last night that his best friend Blake was over from Australia, and he had a 21st the next day.”
Mr Strongman-Lintern was studying Maori with his sister at Victoria University and wanted to take up law, but he kept it a secret because leaving town isn't regarded by his friends as cool.
“People call Paraparaumu a hole. It's obviously beautiful but they feel like they're trapped here, but there are a lot of people in his circles who don't really aspire to a lot,” says Ms Strongman-Lintern.
She says groups come in from out of town to clash with locals.
“I think the problem is with the bars opening, that's attracting them.”
Police have increased patrols around the Kapiti Lights complex since Mr Strongman-Lintern's death, which came five weeks after 17-year-old Izac Millanta was fatally beaten in the same car park. The two young men were rugby league mates, and their siblings are also friends.
Since their deaths the violence seemed to have quietened down, but on Saturday police were called to a Paraparaumu street to find dozens of teenagers fighting and causing trouble. Residents say that kind of activity is a weekly event.
Two people were arrested on Saturday for disorderly behaviour, and one for carrying a knife. But it didn't stop there – police shut down two more out-of-control teenage parties over the weekend.
Police have joined forces with youth agencies and the council to tackle the problem. Kapiti Coast district councillor Tony Lester is one of those looking for answers.
He asks: “Is it additional job opportunities, is it additional mentoring, is it additional one-to-one for some of the families or some of the people, what is it that's required to be done?”
Ms Strongman-Lintern is speaking out because she doesn't want her brother’s death – the brother she remembers as a gentle joker – to be in vain.
“I think the most important thing is that people listen, that people learn from it,” she says.
Because if they don't, tragedy might strike again.
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