A Southern Suburbs family expressed their shock and disbelief after a gang of thugs launched an attack on patrons at Canal Walk over the weekend.
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A viral video captured the shocking moment when the unidentified suspects unleashed a flurry of punches on other youngsters near the restaurants in the food court of the shopping centre.
Disclaimer: This footage contains sensitive content of a violent nature
One of the victims, a 16-year-old boy, was reportedly attacked and injured for not responding when confronted by the group.
According to his mother, Nadia Ross, her son was at the mall on Saturday evening to attend a friend’s birthday dinner. He split up from his family when he spotted his friends and headed to the mall’s food court.
The teen was asked whether he was in a gang but remained quiet because he was uncomfortable speaking in Afrikaans.
‘My son is traumatised and so are we how could something like this happen in such a public space? I can’t just let this go without raising awareness about the effects of such incidents on our society.’
She says: ‘The incident took place less than 10 minutes before the mall was to close. I remember how we got a call at about 8.55pm to say a gang was attacking my son. As a mother, nothing prepares you for something like that, and nothing can ever make an experience like that okay.’
The family intends to file a formal complaint with the police. As per Canal Walk’s recommendation, they have already visited Maitland SAPS to initiate legal proceedings.
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