Gold Coast police searching for group of teens after tourists attacked at Coolangatta beach
Police are on the hunt for a pack of teens after a group of people were allegedly kicked, punched and choked while sitting at Coolangatta beach. Read what happened
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Police are on the hunt for a pack of teens after a group of people were allegedly kicked, punched and choked while sitting at Coolangatta beach.
Gold Coast police were called after they received reports a group of friends were attacked by what has been described as a “pack of animals” while sitting on the grass at Coolangatta beach on Sunday at 7.30pm.
It was understood a 17-year-old girl and around five other teens between 17 and 19, approached the friend group “demanding” they gave her their tobacco.
Acting Chief Superintendent Peter Miles said when the group said no, “it was on”.
“(The teens) stole a bag, people tried to intervene, they had cans thrown at their faces, hitting them on the head,” he said.
“Another young lady had a bag around her body as they tried to take it off her and she was being choked.
“People were being punched and kicked.
“When I say animalistic behaviours, it was like a pack of mongrel dogs set out on these people who were just minding their own business.”
Mr Miles said police inspected nearby CCTV footage and found one of the offenders, a New South Wales girl, who has since been let off on a caution.
“She has very little history in Queensland.”
“We have detectives from the CIB investigation branch looking into who the other offenders were.”
Mr Miles said the incident was “really disappointing” after a “cracking” Easter long weekend.
“To have it end this way for these people who were mostly tourists, and a couple of them were on working holiday visas. We want them to go home and say they had an experience of a lifetime.
“Not going back home to their mother country saying they got robbed by a 17-year-old who wanted my tobacco.”
The incident comes as the suburb continues to grapple with a rising youth crime crisis.
Coolangatta Concrete Lines Skate shop owner Les Graue told this masthead last year he was living in a constant state of anxiety after being “tormented” and allegedly attacked by different a group of teens multiple times.
Mr Miles said police were aware and concerned about the rising number of youth crime incidents in the area.
“We are finding quite a few juveniles are coming from New South Wales and the Tweed area and coming over the border,” he said.
“They are using the border as a guise to think they can get away with this, but they can’t.
“We have special police and constables that can go into New South Wales and make arrests.
“This behaviour is certainly a concern for us and we want to keep tabs on it and make sure people feel safe down there.”
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Originally published as Gold Coast police searching for group of teens after tourists attacked at Coolangatta beach
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