Good Samaritan left bloodied, unconscious in Mary St bashing
The 50-year-old man was punched to the ground in Gympie’s main street when he and the woman he was with tried to stop a group of thugs beating into someone, police say
Gympie
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AN ACT of "animal" violence against a good Samaritan and his partner when they tried to stop an attack in Mary St on Friday night was the latest in a cluster of vicious assaults in the heart of Gympie, police said today.
A 50-year-old man had to be taken to the Sunshine Coast University Hospital for specialist treatment after he tried to stop a group of four people from bashing another person about 2.30am on Saturday.
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Police said the man was walking down Mary St with his partner about 2.30am on Saturday when he saw two men and two women allegedly assaulting a person in the street.
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When the good Samaritan tried to intervene, a male from the group punched him in the face, knocking him to the ground where he hit his head on the concrete.
The same offender then turned on the man's partner and punched her in the face, he said.
"It could have been much worse," Gympie police chief senior sergeant Gregg Davey said.
"When a good member of the public tries to intervene and they get punched- it's just cowardly. It's animal behaviour," he said.
The man, who was in and out of consciousness, and woman were both taken to Gympie Hospital, with the man requiring further specialist treatment at the Sunshine Coast University Hospital, Sen Sgt Davey said.
The attack happened just two weeks after another man allegedly had his cheek broken in a violent glassing incident at the Queenslander Hotel in Mary St.
It was one of a spate of alleged violent attacks that police say have escalated in the past six weeks.
He said Gympie police would now be concentrating on curbing alcohol-fuelled violence, although fluctuating numbers of visitors to the city's licensed venues made combating the problem difficult.
He said if violent behaviour was going to occur it was more likely to be in the later hours of a night "when people are more fuelled up with alcohol."
"A lot of people are pre-loading before they head out - they are getting together as friends and drinking at home as a more cost effective way before hitting the town.
"That's the importance of the traders themselves making sure their security is tight and their compliance with the Liquor Act is enforced."
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He said it was also vital people look after themselves when they are out.
"You just have to be a bit street smart - monitor people that are starting to get a little angsty and move yourself away from it.
"If you're in an establishment, talk to security and keep them briefed.
"That one punch is a cowardly act - there is no other way to describe it. One punch can kill."
Sen Sgt Davey said police were looking for information from anyone who witnessed Saturday morning's alleged assault in Mary St.
"We also want information about anyone who may have boasted about the incident or who came home with blood on their clothes after the night out," he said.
Call Policelink on 131 444 or to remain anonymous contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or visit www.crimestoppersqld.com.au.
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