Attacked in street after coming to the aid of elderly man
A young man has undergone emergency surgery after he was pelted with bottles and bashed by a group of up to 20 in Far North Queensland.
Cairns
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There are calls for a curfew after a young man required emergency surgery following a brutal assault by a group of up to 20 in Mareeba’s main street.
Two men aged in their 20s left the Ant Hill Hotel on Saturday night, with plans to walk 200m along Byrnes St to the Gateway Hotel, when outside Mitre 10 the pair intervened to assist a man being harassed by a group.
It is unclear whether they were youths or adults.
The situation quickly escalated after the group produced weapons and bottles and attacked the pair.
The attack followed an earlier altercation involving the two groups inside licenced premises on Byrnes Street at about 9pm, according to police.
A relative of one man said the pair were pelted with bottles and had their heads stomped on.
“They were picking on an older gentleman and there were only a few and then they all came out like they were hiding,” she said.
A Queensland Ambulance Service spokeswoman said paramedics were called to Byrnes St at 10.55pm on Saturday.
One man was taken to Mareeba Hospital in a serious but stable condition with lacerations to his neck.
The injured man was later flown to Cairns Hospital in the early hours of Sunday morning for emergency surgery.
A Queensland Police spokesman said the group alleged to have assaulted the men had fled the scene by the time officers arrived and mobile patrols were unable to locate the people involved.
Opposition Police spokesman Dale Last said the alleged assault on Saturday night could have resulted in the victim being permanently injured or even losing their life.
“Over the last few years these young thugs have become even more brazen because of a lack of consequences for actions,” he said.
“When these offenders face court, the community would expect them to face serious consequences, but what we are more likely to see, however, is the offenders back on the streets well before the victim has made a full recovery.”
The latest incident has prompted calls for a curfew from residents amid an apparent escalation of both assault and property related crime in the troubled Tablelands town.
The man flown for medical care has since been discharged from Cairns Hospital.
Police said investigations into the incident are ongoing.
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Originally published as Attacked in street after coming to the aid of elderly man
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