12 Jan 2019

Gang member under police guard at Timaru Hospital

1:33 pm on 12 January 2019

The South Canterbury District Health Board says patients will not be inconvenienced by a lockdown in a Timaru Hospital room.

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The room where a stabbed gang member is being cared for at Timaru Hospital is in lockdown. Photo: Supplied / Google Maps

A gang member who was stabbed during a street fight is being guarded by the police inside the hospital. The police say that is standard practice for someone who has been arrested but can't be kept in custody.

The DHB said police will remain at the hospital until the patient is discharged, which could be early next week.

It said all facilities are fully functional within the hospital, and no beds are unavailable as a result of the lockdown.

The other gang member involved in the four-person stabbing in the early hours of yesterday morning has been discharged from Timaru Hospital.

The gang members were seen fighting in Dunkirk Street in Timaru about 3.15am yesterday.

Police are continuing their enquiries and would like to hear from anyone who saw or heard anything in the area.