Residents in a Bay of Plenty suburb - where a 4-year-old boy was assaulted for wearing a red shirt - say they have stopped dressing their children in the colour for fear of Black Power gang reprisals.
The attack on the preschooler in a Whakatane park has drawn widespread condemnation and a police hunt for a gang member or gang wannabe who was wearing a blue T-shirt and blue bandanas around his wrists and neck.
Whakatane is considered the territory of Black Power, which is associated with blue clothing.
The gang's fierce rival, the Mongrel Mob, wears red.
Police revealed yesterday the boy was playing with his family in a reserve last week when a man approached him and berated him about the colour of his shirt.
While the child's father's back was turned, the man allegedly poked the boy and pulled the shirt off him.
Senior Sergeant Bruce Jenkins said: "I think this offender is despicable and the police are intent on finding out who is responsible."
Eastern Bay of Plenty acting area commander Greg Sparrow said the man, who was in his 20s, might not be a formal member of a gang, but part of a "wannabe" youth group.
Police initially said the attacker was a Black Power member.
"This was a terrible incident and no doubt it was frightening for the boy and his family and we are doing everything we can to locate this person and ensure he is held accountable," Cmdr Sparrow said.
Some people around the reserve said they refused to be intimidated by gangs.
But others said they would not dare send their children out in red colours in the suburb where the incident occurred.
One resident said she hated choosing her children's clothes with a concern for their safety.
"My kids are 4 and 5. I should be able to send them out there in any colour. But this whole street is black and blue. It's such a shame."
She did not want to be named because she had confronted Black Power members before, and had the front windows of her house broken.
Another mother, who had children aged 3 and 5, said she stopped dressing them in red after she heard of an 80-year-old woman being abused for the colour of her jersey in downtown Whakatane.
"It's silly. But it has a real-life effect. When [cancer support group] CanTeen sells bandanas here, they take out the red and blue because they know they'll cause a fuss."
Whakatane Mayor Colin Holmes said the incident was not isolated, but the young age of the victim was a first.
"Gang colours are part of life in any town in New Zealand. But for someone to pick on someone so young is unbelievable."
He said the district council wanted to follow Wanganui's example and take action against gangs, especially their public presence and regalia.
"We would already have enforced this but we feel it is being dealt with by the Government at a national level. We wholeheartedly support it."
Gang expert Dennis O'Reilly said the attack on the child was not something gangs endorsed.
He said it was likely the attacker was a "wannabe gang member" going to the extremes.
