Police are sickened by a "cowardly attack" allegedly carried out by a Mongrel Mob member or associate on a teenager in Christchurch after a night out at the weekend.
The 19-year-old man was hit in an unprovoked attack on Oxford Terrace at around 1am on Sunday, causing him to fall to the ground, hit his head on the pavement and be knocked unconscious, Detective Senior Sergeant Nicola Reeves told 1 NEWS.
"There is CCTV and cell phone footage that is circulating which actually shows the assault happening and you can see in that that it is one punch and this young man has fallen to the ground," she said.
The injured man remains in a serious condition at Christchurch Hospital.
Meanwhile, police are still looking for the alleged assailant, who is described as being Māori with tattoos on his arms. He was wearing black clothing, a black hat and a red bandana wrapped around his wrist.
Reeves said police know the offender is a member or associate of the Mongrel Mob because of the group of people he was with, colours he was wearing and descriptions from witnesses.
The attack came after the gang held there national hui in Christchurch at the weekend.
During the weekend they were heavily policed and monitored, but Reeves said there was "very little in the way of trouble with them other than this particular incident".
"From time-to-time gang tensions increase for various different reasons and they simmer down again, but they are always at a reasonably high level and the police are at the fore of trying to keep them under control and making sure that we can carry on our day-to-day lives as members of the public.
"An unprovoked attack, regardless of who is responsible for it is always a concern for the public and the police. This a cowardly attack on a young man who was doing absolutely nothing except being out and enjoying himself for the night so that is a concern for all of us."
The violent assault happened just hours after a large number of patched gang members were seen gathering at a nearby quarry.
Gangs expert and sociologist Jarrod Gilbert said the large hui has been common since the 1960s, and gang members usually kept to themselves.
"I don't think it's any symbol that the gangs are taking over the town or anything like that. It's one idiot, who's done something incredibly violent, and let's hope he gets caught for it," he said.
Police are continuing to urge anyone who has video footage of the attack to come forward.
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