Attribute to Detective Inspector Stu Harvey:

The young child injured in an incident in Otautau, Southland, on Sunday 20 September has now sadly died.

Emergency services were called to an address around 6:50pm on Sunday, and the child was transported to hospital in critical condition.

They were later flown to Starship Hospital in Auckland; however, they sadly died this afternoon.

Police are now treating this as a homicide investigation.

Police are seeking information as part of an investigation into an unprovoked assault on a teenage boy in Henderson.

Footage has been obtained of three people Police would like to speak to in the investigation.

An assault occurred around 2.09pm on 9 September 2026, at a bus stop on Swanson Road, near the intersection with Mihini Road.

Senior Constable Paul Stanko, Waitematā West Police, says the victim had been waiting for a bus at the time.

“The 16-year-old student observed three adult males sitting inside the bus shelter drinking beer.