Teen dead after wild Adelaide brawl

A teenage boy fatally stabbed in a wild brawl in central Adelaide was set upon by two gangs of youths, a witness says.

Another youth is in a critical condition after the brawl involving between 12 to 15 teenage boys, all of African appearance, erupted near the corner of Grenfell Street and St James Place about 3.30pm (CDT) yesterday.

"One of the teenagers has died and one is in a critical condition at the Royal Adelaide Hospital," South Australia Police spokesman Senior Constable Mick Turnbull said.

With many of the youths armed with knives the brawl spilled out across Grenfell Street.

"The fight has proceeded across the road, outside the Fleet Street newsagency (in Grenfell Street) and two teenage boys have been stabbed as a result of the fight involving a group of teenage boys," he told AAP.

A witness, who did not wish to be named, said two large groups of youths chased a boy across the road to the newsagency.

"Soon as they saw the single guy, out came knives, off came belts, and they went for him," one said.

Witnesses at the scene told reporters the fight involved a group of Sudanese youths.

An overseas student said she was inside the newsagency with her elderly parents on their first trip to Australia as the brawl erupted.

"It was terrible. This should not happen in Adelaide," the unnamed woman told News Limited.

"They (her parents) should not see this in Adelaide.

"It's very frightening. Thanks to God they (her parents) were not stabbed."

A man who administered CPR on a wounded boy, believed to be 14 years old, said the scene was chaotic.

"I came around the corner and saw a group of youths running," the unnamed man told News Ltd.

"I don't know where (on his body) he was stabbed, I was doing CPR while I was on the phone calling for help and other people were helping."

A bicycle courier said he used his shirt to stem the flow of blood from one of the wounded boys.

Blood stained the footpath and a window outside the shop, while magazine racks inside were upturned, witnesses said.

Major crimes Detective Inspector Doug Barr called for witnesses to contact police.

"One person has been arrested and is in custody, however, their connection with this incident is sketchy," he told reporters.

"The investigation is still in the very early stages and I'm unable to provide further details about that."

Traffic in central Adelaide was in gridlock for the afternoon peak as major crimes detectives closed the affected section of Grenfell Street to examine the scene.

Grenfell Street did not reopen until about 7pm.

13 Nov 2008

This is what happens when governments import trash from around the world. These people live in OUR community and trash our society, and not where the lawmakers live and work.