A 13-year-old has been charged with murder after a 16-year-old boy suffered fatal injuries in a suspected stabbing at a Dunedin bus stop yesterday afternoon.
According to police, the incident occurred after 3pm, during “an altercation between the victim and offender”.
“Police are still working to establish the circumstances leading into the incident but can confirm that we have recovered a knife from the scene,” a police spokesperson said.
Following the incident, the 16-year-old was rushed to hospital but died a short time later.
Another teen, now charged with murder, was taken into custody and appeared in the Dunedin Youth Court this morning.
Questions have been raised about what more should have been done to prevent the tragedy.
Victim full of ‘energy and promise’
In a statement, the principal of Trinity Catholic School – where the victim studied – said: “It is so devastating, heartbreaking and sad to lose someone so young and full of energy and promise in such a senseless and horrific way.
“Our hearts go out to his whānau who are going through this terrible loss.
“We are a strong, united school community, and we will wrap our love, care and support around those in our college who need it at this time.”
‘Nicest boy I’ve ever met’: Friends and family gather to remember victim
Almost 100 friends and family gathered at the scene of the suspected stabbing to honour the 16-year-old victim.
A haka was performed, flowers were given and people impacted by the tragedy were consoled at the Great King Street site.
The victim was described by friends as “someone you could just sit with… it was never a bad time with the bro”.
“He always spread the love around… he was one of the nicest boys I’ve ever met in my life,” another friend said.
Police were at the scene.
![Flowers were laid at the scene of the suspected Dunedin stabbing, which left one teenager dead.](https://tvnz-1-news-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/flowers-were-laid-at-the-scene-of-the-suspected-dunedin-stab-WVXNVVJXT5C3RGCPHHM3KFZA4I.jpg?auth=11e78825dfd0614672a7851e28bf461047a5867e83856a17fc41cfa0f2d3a7a8&quality=70&width=767&height=431&focal=960%2C540)
Investigations continue
“Our scene examination on Great King Street is now complete, and several inquiries are underway,” police said.
“A post-mortem is expected to be carried out today, and next-of-kin notifications are ongoing.
“We are working, along with Victim Support, to support the victim’s family at this extremely difficult time.”
Otago Coastal Area Commander Inspector Marty Gray said at a stand-up this afternoon that investigations into the incident were still in the “infant stages”.
“Police are still working to establish the circumstances leading up to the incident … we recognise that something like this is extremely distressing to the community.
“Police have been aware of anti-social behaviour at the bus hub for some time and have been working closely with the Dunedin City Council, Otago Regional Council, the Education Department, iwi and other partners to address this issue.”
Discussions about the facility in central Dunedin have been spurred by the death of a boy in hospital after a suspected stabbing.
Gray said security staff were working at the hub yesterday, “and quickly intervened in this altercation”.
“[The incident happened] very, very quickly,” Gray said. “We had become aware and we were on the scene in one minute, applying medical aid to the victim, and also apprehended the [alleged] offender, and brought him in.”
Gray said the victim appeared to only have been stabbed once, and that “there’s no other reason for our community to be worried about a similar incident occurring”.
“Police have increased our foot and car patrols in the area, focusing on peak times to ensure high visibility of police officers,” Gray said earlier today.
Extra CCTV has been put in place, alongside additional security patrols.
“The incident yesterday was a tragedy, and our hearts go out to the victim and his family.”
An online portal, established this morning to anonymously collect photos and videos of the incident for the police investigation, had collected some evidence, Gray said.
“We’ve still got to unpack a lot. We know that there will be people out there that still have stuff and we really encourage them to bring it to us.”
The accused will reappear in the High Court on June 11.