The teens credited with rescuing a beaten police officer say they are being bullied out of town.
Speaking publicly for the first time, Evelina Laulu, 16, recounted the day she and her 14-year-old sister Sarah pulled an unconscious John Connolly away from a mob of teenagers kicking and bashing him.
The threats come less than a month after a community meeting was held to address the issue of youth violence.
During the meeting, one resident said it was “about time the parents got in and got their kids under control”.
Evelina told the Herald on Sunday she ran in to help Mr Connolly, and was focussed on getting him out of there.
“I want to thank him because if the table was turned around it could have been us,” she told the newspaper.
The girls’ mother, Wilhemina Laulu, said the mother of one of the accused had threatened her youngest child.
She says the small community is now “unsafe” for her and her family.
“Everyone is related to one another.”
Racial tensions and youth gangs are creating a climate of fear in the town, Ms Laulu said.
Franklin District Mayor Mark Ball says the community has had enough.
One Tuakau resident, who did not want to be named, told 3 News there is a significant problem with youth violence in the area. While the police do an excellent job, she says they are extremely under resourced.
Police reassured locals they had a plan to boost officer numbers.
“It will be delivered and those staff will form a six-person team at the Tuakau area,” Papakura Commander Inspector Gary Hill said.
Ms Laulu said she had previously warned the school about concerns for her children’s safety, but no action had been taken.
“It’s only me protecting my children here,” Ms Laulu told the Herald.
“We are like gypsies at the moment, just waiting and hoping that we can move. I just want to live in a better area so I can get a good start for my family.”
Police have charged a group of 13 boys and girls, whose ages range from 14 to 18, with wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.
It is alleged the group set upon the off-duty police officer when he tried to break up a fight on Elizabeth St in Tuakau. He was left unconscious and in a critical condition with a fractured skull, broken jaw and teeth, collapsed lung, and a fractured ankle.
The group, who all have interim name suppression, will reappear in Pukekohe District Court this week. Police say another two 13-year-olds were interviewed but not charged.
Mr Connolly is now out of hospital and was visited by Police Minister Judith Collins last week.
“He’s got a very big titanium plate in his head and massive stitching right across the top of his skull – but he is slowly improving,” she says.
Ms Collins acknowledged the girls’ bravery and urged the family to talk to their local MP, National’s Paul Hutchison, about getting a Housing NZ home outside the Tuakau area.
3 News