Young man left unresponsive after alleged assault at Auckland station

Wednesday, 10 June 2026

A young man was left unresponsive and in a serious condition after an altercation at Papakura Station on Tuesday night around 7.10pm.

Police say an unknown man approached the victim — who had been acting 'verbally aggressive' to the public — assaulted him, and fled the scene.

Emergency services administered first aid to the victim before transporting him to Middlemore Hospital, and police are now reviewing CCTV footage to locate the offender.

A woman who rushed to help a seriously injured man after an alleged assault at an Auckland transport hub says she feared he would die as he lay bleeding while waiting for an ambulance.

The woman, who was waiting for a bus when the assault happened, told Stuff she couldn’t stop thinking about what she saw at Papakura Station on Tuesday night.

The mother-of-three told Stuff she responded quickly when she saw three young men, in their late teens or early twenties, running from the scene and leaving another young man lying bleeding on the ground after 7pm.

“I started to run towards him and then security started to run, and the lovely Māori boy who cleans the train station ran.”

The woman said she was concerned as no one appeared to have called for an ambulance.

“They were all more concerned about ringing the police because apparently this boy had been playing up prior at the train station.

Police confirmed the man was allegedly assaulted after he was verbally aggressive to members of the public.

“I don't care what had happened, no one deserves this,” the woman told Stuff.

She said security staff rolled the young man into the recovery position before police “came sprinting” from the nearby Papakura Police Station.

“They said his breathing is very shallow and his pulse is very weak,” she said.

“He was non-responsive.”

A spokesperson for Hato Hone St John confirmed they transported one person in a serious condition to Middlemore Hospital after they were called to the incident after 7.30pm.

Do you know more? Contact newstips@stuffdigital.co.nz

“So I was on the phone to the ambulance already by that point. I just sat there, and I am a Christian, so I just prayed over him,” she said, adding that seeing the injured man brought back bad memories of a relative who recently spent months in a coma.

“All that was going through my head is, ‘if he doesn't get medical attention, he's going to die’.

“I just sat there and I spoke to him, and I was like, ‘come on boy, I don't know you, but people care about you. You've got a family that love you, keep fighting’.”

With ambulance moments away and her bus ready to leave, the woman said she reluctantly left the young man in the care of emergency services, but can’t stop thinking about him.

“The world is so crazy and dangerous, it was really quite traumatic to see.”

“It doesn't matter what he did, he still has a family that loves him,” she said, adding that she wanted to find the young man’s family and offer them support.

She also had strong words for the trio that fled the station that night.

“These people don't think about the roll-on effect that the families have to deal with.

“Look at the effects of no discipline… It just makes me angry. Because these kids are so wayward, and they're just hurting people.”

Inspector Jared Pirret, the area commander for Counties Manukau South, said police were making enquiries.

“Police were called to Railway St West after 7.10pm, when the assault occurred. At this stage, our enquiries have established a man was being verbally aggressive to members of the public.

“While this has been ongoing, an unknown male has approached this man. An altercation has occurred between them, when the assault has taken place.”

“This unknown male has left the scene shortly afterward.”

Police said it would be speaking with the seriously injured man and reviewing CCTV footage.

Anyone with information was asked to call 105 or use the online portal and give the reference number 260610/4898.

An Auckland Transport spokesperson said it was working with police and had provided CCTV footage of the incident.