''I didn't think this sort of thing would happen here. This sort of thing happens in Christchurch, not here,'' said Sally-Ann Dalliessi, mother of Krystal (18) and Ben (16) Dalliessi, who were attacked within two hours of each other on Friday night.
''My kids are not perfect, but they definitely did not deserve this,'' she said.
After watching most of the Highlanders v Sharks game at Carisbrook on Friday night, Ben Dalliessi left the game before the end, to avoid the crowds.
Contacting his father to pick him up, Mr Dalliessi waited at Leckhampton Court, where he was assaulted.
''All I remember is two guys approached me, tackled me to the ground, and one started kicking me in the head.''
Knocking him out, the attackers fled and two pedestrians came to Ben's aid, contacting his father on Ben's mobile phone.
''I got a call from this guy saying: 'Your son has been kicked in the head','' said Brendan Dalliessi. ''Not the sort of call you want.''
Ben Dalliessi said rather than report the incident to police and have his injuries checked at the hospital, he returned with his father to their Bradford St home to celebrate his sister's 18th birthday.
At 11pm, Krystal Dalliessi received a text from her eldest brother Ray Stockdale, asking her and Ben to come to the aid of his partner, who was being harassed by a group of five girls near the forecourt of Shell Valley petrol station in Kaikorai Valley Rd.
Rushing to break-up the skirmish, Miss Dalliessi was punched and kicked to the ground, and, ''I just blacked out'', she said.
As her brothers came to her aid, her attackers fled the scene and Miss Dalliessi was assisted to the family home.
The assault was reported to police the following morning, and Miss Dalliessi had her injuries checked by a doctor on Monday, when she was treated for concussion, cuts, scratches, and a suspected cracked rib.
Police said they were following a strong line of inquiry following the assault on Miss Dalliessi.
''This [attack] has really freaked me out. I don't think I will be going out by myself,'' she said.
''Nothing like this has ever happened to me before.''
Mrs Dalliessi said the attacks on her children had highlighted the increasing danger in Dunedin's suburbs.
''I don't think it is safe. I used to think it was safe, but no longer. Every Monday I read in the paper about someone who was attacked. The police are doing the best they can, but it is just getting worse.''
