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‘Unimaginable grief’: One year ago, six were killed in a ‘senseless’ attack
Survivors, first responders and those who lost their lives in the Westfield Bondi Junction stabbing attack last year have been honoured as Australia marks a sombre anniversary.
Today marks one year since six people were fatally stabbed and ten were injured on April 13, 2024 when Joel Cauchi went on a stabbing rampage in the busy Sydney shopping centre.
In a statement, NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb paid tribute to the "heroes" who helped and those tragically killed during the horrific killing spree.
READ MORE: PM Anthony Albanese remembers victims of Bondi Junction attack
"Our hearts are with their families who continue to endure unimaginable grief and do their best to carry on," Webb said today.
"Hundreds of people, including police, paramedics, and civilians, were all first responders on this horrific day.
"They are heroes, risking their own lives in an effort to save victims and nurse the wounded during what can only be described as a senseless tragedy."
Webb added: "The memory and the trauma of this day will never be forgotten."
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NSW Premier Chris Minns, the Waverly Council and the Scentre Group, which owns Westfield, will observe the first anniversary at Bondi Junction today.
Speaking on Today, the NSW Premier said today is a "harrowing day" for Sydney and the families of victims.
"I can only imagine what those families are going through," Minns said.
"One year on, they'd be thinking about their loved ones, what they would have achieved over the last 12 months and what lay ahead of them if they were still with us.
"The thing that strikes me about all six of the people that were killed is how bright and optimistic they were, how they were focused on the future.
"And I think that's what makes today so harrowing and difficult for the people involved."
Officials and emergency services representatives will lay floral bouquets at the commemorative display boards that have been installed at Oxford Street Mall.
The display, which will remain in place until April 16, will share photos and messages and will be a space for people to reflect on the tragedy.
Cauchi's victims were: 25-year-old Dawn Singleton, 27-year-old Yixuan Cheng, 30-year-old Faraz Tahir, 38-year-old Ashlee Good, 47-year-old Jade Young and 55-year-old Pikria Darchia.
READ MORE: Bondi Junction stabbing survivor living with 'mental trauma' one year on
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Yesterday, on the eve of the first anniversary, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese addressed the nation in a video message to "pause to remember those whose lives were stolen on what should have been just another Saturday".
"Hold on to all they were and all they had ahead of them. This should not be an anniversary," he said.
"They should still be here – with their families, their friends and in their communities, with all their hopes and dreams and joys that are the very essence of life."
Readers seeking support can contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636.
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Woman rushed to hospital after stabbing near Sydney CBD
A manhunt is under way after a 41-year-old woman was stabbed inside a unit in Sydney's CBD.
The incident unfolded at a complex on Bowman Street in Pyrmont about 4.50 am today.
Police were told a man had allegedly forced entry into the unit and stabbed the woman in the head before fleeing.
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Paramedics treated her at the scene and she was taken to hospital in a stable condition.
The man and woman are believed to be known to each other, according to police.
Another woman and two children were also in the home at the time, but suffered no injuries.
Police have established a crime scene and commenced an investigation into the incident.
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Intellectually disabled teen shot by police in US dies in hospital
An autistic, non-verbal teenage boy who was shot repeatedly by US police from the other side of a chain link fence while he was holding died on Saturday (local time) after being removed from life support, his family said.
Victor Perez, 17, who also had cerebral palsy, had been in a coma since the April 5 shooting, and tests on Friday showed that he had no brain activity, his aunt, Ana Vazquez, told The Associated Press.
He had undergone several surgeries, with doctors removing nine bullets and amputating his leg.
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Police in the south-west Idaho city of Pocatello responded to a 911 call reporting that an apparently intoxicated man with a knife was chasing someone in a yard.
It turned out to be Perez, who was not intoxicated but walked with a staggered gait due to his disabilities, Vazquez said.
His family members had been trying to get the large kitchen knife away from him.
Video taken by a neighbour showed that Perez was lying in the yard after falling over when four officers arrived and rushed to the fence at the edge of the yard.
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They immediately ordered Perez to drop the knife, but instead he stood and began stumbling toward them.
Officers opened fire within about 12 seconds of getting out of their patrol cars and made no apparent effort to de-escalate the situation.
The shooting outraged Perez’s family and Pocatello residents, and a vigil had been planned for Saturday morning outside the Pocatello hospital where he was treated.
“Everybody was trying to tell the police, no, no,” Vazquez said. “Those four officers didn’t care. They didn’t ask what was happening, what was the situation.”
“How’s he going to jump the fence when he can barely walk?” she said.
The officers, whose names have not been released, were placed on administrative leave.
Decisions about whether charges should be filed against them will be made after an independent investigation by the Eastern Idaho Critical Incident Team, Bannock County Prosecutor Ian Johnson told the AP via email.
“When that investigation is complete a report will be submitted for review,” he said. “In a continued effort to ensure independent and objective consideration, said report will be reviewed by an agency outside of Bannock County.”
Pocatello Mayor Brian Blad said in a statement on Friday, after the family announced that Perez had no brain activity, that officials’ thoughts and prayers were with them.
“We recognise the pain and grief this incident has caused in our community,” Blad said.
Blad said on Thursday that the city was “addressing this matter with the seriousness and thoroughness it deserves and with the appropriate respect for the gravity of the situation.”
“The criminal, external, and internal investigations regarding the officer-involved shooting are underway, which is why we cannot answer questions out of concern of interfering with or compromising the investigation,” he said.
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Dominican nightclub collapse death toll rises to 226
A woman hospitalised after being rescued from the rubble of a roof collapse at a popular nightclub in the Dominican Republic died on Saturday, raising the death toll to 226, health officials said.
The latest victim was a 41-year-old Costa Rican national, according to the National Health Service.
Earlier in the day, health officials said four other people hospitalised after the disaster had died overnight.
READ MORE: Bondi Junction stabbing survivor living with 'mental trauma' one year on
Officials said 189 people were rescued alive from the rubble of the popular venue in the capital Santo Domingo.
More than 200 were injured, with 14 still hospitalised, including four in critical condition.
The roof at the Jet Set nightclub collapsed during a merengue concert in the early hours of Tuesday. Politicians, athletes and a fashion designer were among those enjoying live music when disaster struck.
As of Saturday, friends and relatives remained at a forensics institute waiting for the return of their loved ones' bodies. Later in the day, health authorities said 225 bodies had been returned to their families.
Health minister Victor Attalah told journalists there had been a delay in identifying victims because the majority of them had to be matched using biometric data.
Victims identified so far include former Major League Baseball players Octavio Dotel and Tony Enrique Blanco Cabrera. Nelsy Cruz, the governor of the northwestern province of Montecristi, whose brother is seven-time MLB All-Star Nelson Cruz, also died.
Officials have said it is too soon to determine why the roof fell, although prosecutors visited the scene on Thursday after rescue crews began packing up and removed heavy equipment.
On Thursday, President Luis Abinader and First Lady Raquel Arbaje attended the burial of singer Rubby Pérez in Santo Domingo’s National Theater.
Pérez had been performing on stage at the packed club when dust began falling from the ceiling and, seconds later, the roof caved. Mourners clad in black and white streamed into the theater and some doubled over in tears as a recording of Pérez singing the national anthem played.
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These beloved household plants are actually weeds
At least three quarters of the weeds choking our waterways and invading our national parks are escaped garden plants. Click through to see some of the popular household plants that have escaped the garden to become invasive weeds.
Menendez brothers win second chance to fight for freedom as judge allows resentencing
Erik and Lyle Menendez’s resentencing hearings can continue despite opposition from the Los Angeles County district attorney, a judge ruled on Friday.
They were sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole at ages 18 and 21 after being convicted of murdering their parents, Jose and Kitty Menendez, in their Beverly Hills home in 1989.
While defence attorneys argued the brothers acted out of self-defence after years of sexual abuse by their father, prosecutors said the brothers killed their parents for a multi-million-dollar inheritance.
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The case has captured the public’s attention for decades, and the Netflix drama Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story and the documentary The Menendez Brothers released in the fall of 2024, have been credited for bringing new attention to the case.
Supporters of the brothers have flown in from across the country to attend rallies and hearings in the past few months.
Former Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón asked a judge last year to change the brothers’ sentence from life without the possibility of parole to 50 years to life.
That would make them immediately eligible for parole because they committed the crime when they were younger than 26.
But Gascón’s successor reversed course.
Nathan Hochman submitted a motion last month to withdraw the resentencing request.
Deputy District Attorney Habib Balian said during Friday's hearing they could not support the brothers’ resentencing because the brothers had not admitted to lies told during their trial about why they killed their parents nor have they taken complete responsibility for their crime.
“They are the same people they were," Balian said.
“They have not changed.”
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Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Michael Jesic that argument is “fair game” for prosecutors to make during the resentencing hearing.
The brothers appeared in court over Zoom but didn’t make any public statements.
“They’ve waited a long time to get some justice," the brothers’ attorney, Mark Geragos, said of the family.
Balian said that the key issue with Gascón’s resentencing petition was that it did not fully address rehabilitation and missed key elements of the original crime committed.
“What does it (rehabilitation) mean? To learn from your mistakes and truly understand that you were wrong,” Balian said.
Balian presented evidence and video clips of the brothers' testimony from the first trial to demonstrate instances where they “hunkered down in their bunker of deceit, lies, and deception".
He said the brothers killed their parents out of greed when they learned they would be taken out of the will, citing psychiatrist's notes that he said showed “this was not self-defence.”
Geragos called the presentation a “dog and pony show” and said it was “nothing more than political cover” as a result of Hochman defeating Gascón in the district attorney’s race.
“They have authorised the denial of sexual abuse,” Geragos said of the prosecution’s presentation.
READ MORE: How AI art is 'damaging' Australian artists
Geragos argued the judge had full authority to proceed with resentencing under a California law passed in 2023 that allows a court to recall a sentence and initiate resentencing at any point in time.
Geragos also objected to Balian including a photo of the deceased and bloody Menendez parents in his presentation, which he said “retraumatised” family members and victims.
The family's relationship with Hochman has soured since he took office.
Most of the brothers' extended family supports their resentencing.
Tamara Goodall, a cousin of the brothers, submitted a complaint with the state asking that Hochman be removed from the case.
She wrote that Hochman had a “hostile, dismissive and patronising tone” in meetings with the family and created an “intimidating and bullying atmosphere".
Geragos pointed out that Hochman demoted Nancy Theberge and Brock Lunsford, the two deputy district attorneys who filed the original resentencing motion.
Theberge and Lunsford have since filed lawsuits against Hochman alleging harassment, discrimination and retaliation for their work on the Menendez brothers case.
“We look forward to a full, fair presentation of who Eric and Lyle are today, not just a version frozen in time in a time of pain and fear, but the whole truth — the growth, the humanity and the men they’ve become,” said Anamaria Baralt, a cousin of the brothers, after the hearing concluded.
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Without resentencing, the brothers would still have two other pathways to freedom.
They have submitted a clemency plea to California Governor Gavin Newsom, who has ordered the state parole board to assess whether the brothers could pose a public risk if released.
The brothers also submitted a petition for habeas corpus in May 2023 asking the court to grant them a new trial in light of new evidence presented.
Hochman's office also filed a motion opposing the petition.
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How AI art is ‘damaging’ Australian artists
Exclusive: Comic artist Evie Hilliar says she has been left feeling "tired" and "helpless" over the Artificial Intelligence art trend.
Recently, social media has been ablaze with AI artworks mimicking the Studio Ghibli art style, made famous by the legendary Japanese animators Hayao Miyazaki, Isao Takahata, Toshio Suzuki and Yasuyoshi Tokuma.
Hilliar has personally been affected by the AI art trend, with her digital comics taken and turned into animations using AI, without giving her credit or asking her permission.
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"It's no secret most artists are very much against AI… in terms of ripping off other people's styles, of course I'm against it, but I don't think there's any stopping it," Hilliar told 9News.
"I feel a bit helpless, I've tried to AI generate my own work to see what comes up, and it does a pretty good job.
"I see a lot on TikTok and Youtube, people have taken my comics and put AI voices over it… Honestly, it bothers me because I don't get that traction; if I don't get credit, then I don't get work.
"This is taking away from me making a living."
Art law experts say the trend is "damaging" to the Australian art landscape, as a complex combination of gaps in copyright and ethical ambiguity creates issues for already struggling Aussie artists.
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"We're really concerned about the implications for Australian artists and artists around the world," CEO of Arts Law Australia and copyright law expert Dr Louise Buckingham said.
"Their livelihoods are being undermined by this capacity for cheap and free inauthentic lookalike products, and all the ways the law falls short in this area… it ends up harming them.
"Copyright doesn't protect or subsist in things like styles and techniques… that's why doing something in the style of (another artist) using a generative AI tool can be really damaging… (art)works can be vulnerable in that sense."
It's not just the law surrounding the AI art that's complex – the issue has also caused division of opinions in the art world.
Sydney-based artist Werner Bronkorst has no issues with the use of AI in art, but said he understands why some people would be upset if a beloved art style is copied.
"I'm sure it would be kind of a gut-wrenching feeling when something that you've worked for your whole entire life is now being kind of mass-produced and people are benefiting from that," he said.
"On the other hand, if it's not infringing on any copyright… if you can't copyright a style then to me personally I don't have a problem with AI.
"On a broader spectrum as an artist, AI is a really good tool, and you can use it for good or bad.
"I don't use it a lot, but I did last year for a collection of mine where I drew cars with charcoal…that's me drawing, still creating artwork, but I used AI to generate images that I draw – that way I don't infringe on other artists' photographs."
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While copyright doesn't apply to art styles or techniques, it does apply to artworks themselves.
If a "substantial part" of an existing artwork is mimicked, the person involved in making it could absolutely face legal repercussions, even if they were unaware that the model had used parts of an existing work.
Artists also have the right to attribution, which is likely infringed upon in the generative AI process, Buckingham said.
"[The AI model] might end up seeming to have used a substantial part of the underlying work… looking at the Studio Ghibili phenomenon, you might end up with a pretty clear-cut example where it looks like a substantial part of an existing Ghibli artwork has been reproduced," she said.
"Any person who's been involved with the things that are exclusively within the rights of the copyright owner…anyone doing any part of that activity can be liable."
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A substantial part of an artwork can include anything that makes the work distinctive, vital, important or essential.
Fines for copyright infringement can vary; one notable case saw Clive Palmer paying $1.2 million for the misuse of We're not gonna take it by the Twisted Sisters in political advertising.
Trump has 90 days to do 150 trade deals. Financial markets aren’t buying it
President Donald Trump and his advisers said this was the plan all along: Scare the bejesus out of the world by announcing astronomically high tariffs, get countries to come to the negotiating table, and — with the exception of China — back away from the most punishing trade barriers as America works out new trade agreements around the globe.
But Trump's 90-day pause on his "reciprocal" tariffs that were never actually reciprocal gives his administration just three months to strike enormously complex trade deals with dozens of countries that it says are lining up to negotiate.
Financial markets aren't buying it. Stocks have whipsawed as volatility has spiked.
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And other markets, including oil, bonds and the dollar, are sending a clear message of deep skepticism that Trump will be able to pull this one off.
Stocks
Following another steep sell-off Thursday, stocks appeared calmer — for now — and posted strong gains Friday.
The Dow ended the day higher by 619 points, or 1.56 per cent. The S&P 500 rose 1.81 per cent and the Nasdaq was 2.06 per cent higher.
Markets were buoyed by Boston Federal Reserve President Susan Collins telling the Financial Times Friday that the central bank would step in to support financial markets if there were signs of distress.
But stock market investors have been trading on a knife's edge, and any announcement coming from the Trump administration on tariffs has the ability to send stocks surging or tumbling.
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For example, stocks plunged Thursday after the Trump administration clarified the math it had already used to set China's massive 145 per cent tariff.
The street had believed the tariff was 125 per cent. The Dow sank sharply, at one point falling more than 2000 points.
In the 129-year history of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the index has closed higher or lower by at least 1000 points just 31 times. Four of those times happened in the past week.
The S&P 500 fell by just over 9 per cent across the first week of April, its biggest one-week drop since March 2020.
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The benchmark index gained 5.7 per cent this week, its biggest one-week gain since 2023.
Despite Wednesday's historic gain after Trump announced his detente, stocks remain well below where they were trading before the president presented his "Liberation Day" tariff plan on April 2.
Bonds
The bond market is acting weirdly.
Typically, you'd expect bond prices to rise throughout periods of turmoil. US Treasuries are historically considered to be the safest of safe assets, backed up by the full faith and credit of the US government.
But bonds aren't rising — they're falling.
That's largely because investors have lost faith in US trade policy, and they fear America could get hurt even worse than the countries Trump's tariff policy is targeting.
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As JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon said in his annual letter to shareholders Monday, Trump's "America First" policy risks alienating its most important partners and the country's special standing in the world.
US Treasury yields, which trade in opposite direction to prices, briefly surged on Friday above 4.5 per cent. They were under 4 per cent earlier in the week.
That represents a massive move for the market. Higher yields could hurt America's economy, as a number of consumer loans are closely tied to those rates.
"The upward action in rates has been rapid in historical context and has provided no comfort to investors looking for havens in turbulent markets," analysts at Citi said in a Friday note.
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US Treasuries were on track for their worst week since 2019, according to Bloomberg's US Treasury total return index, when the New York Federal Reserve had to step in and purchase Treasuries to bring down a spike in yields caused by a liquidity crunch.
"Current market conditions don't require Fed intervention at this point, but Fed officials are likely monitoring market function closely," said Chip Hughey, managing director for fixed income at Truist Advisory Services.
Dimon said Friday on an earnings call that he expects there will be a "kerfuffle" in the Treasury markets that would lead to the Federal Reserve intervening.
"They're not going to do it now … they'll do it when they start to panic a little bit," Dimon said.
Oil
The oil market has been trading like we're going into a recession.
Prices have tumbled over the course of the past couple of weeks as investors feared Trump's trade policy could sap demand for travel, shipping and transportation — all of which require fuel.
US oil on Friday morning fell below $US60 ($96) a barrel, close to a four-year low, before recovering slightly.
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Brent, the global benchmark, was hovering around $US63 ($100) a barrel, the lowest since April 2021, before also gaining slightly.
Oil gained on Friday after US Energy Secretary Chris Wright told reporters that the US could stop Iran's oil exports as part of Trump's negotiations over the nation's nuclear program, according to Reuters.
US oil settled up 2.4 per cent at $US61.50 ($98) a barrel. Brent rose 2.26 per cent to $US64.76 ($103) a barrel.
Yet concerns remain about the impact of tariffs on economic growth and how a potential slowdown could disrupt demand for oil.
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Oil prices have served as a prime recession indicator in recent years. Prices tumbled after surging above $US100 ($160) a barrel for the first time as the Great Recession took hold in 2008.
And prices went negative for the first time during the pandemic as a glut of oil became so severe that traders were literally paying storage facilities to take the unwanted oil off their hands.
Dollar
The dollar on Friday tumbled to its lowest level in three years. That's the opposite of what you'd expect when tariffs are put in place.
Typically, tariffs raise the value of a local currency, because it encourages residents to purchase homemade goods instead of foreign options, stretching their money further in comparison to other currencies.
But currency traders have sold off the dollar, because they believe America will bear the brunt of Trump's trade war fallout and end up comparatively weaker than before tariffs were put in place.
The dollar on Friday hit its lowest level against the euro since 2022.
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The dollar index — which measures the dollar against a basket of currencies — fell 0.9 per cent Friday after tanking 2 per cent Thursday, which was its worst single-day drop since 2022.
Those are massive moves in currency trading world.
"Investors and central banks are selling Treasuries and dollars due to a loss of confidence and credibility in American assets," said Joe Brusuelas, chief economist RSM. "Financial chaos has its cost."
Meanwhile, gold prices surged above a record high $US3,200 ($5125) a troy ounce on Friday.
Gold is up more than 23 per cent this year and just posted its best quarter since 1986. The yellow metal is considered a safe haven amid economic and political uncertainty.
Trade deals
Despite financial markets casting enormous doubt that the Trump administration can salvage the opportunity it created for itself to strike bilateral trade agreements with all 150 countries around the world, the Trump administration remains optimistic.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said this week that more than 70 countries have asked to meet with US representatives to strike a deal that could get them out from under the thumb of Trump's punishing tariffs.
Although the administration has provided few details of which countries it is negotiating with, it said it would favor allies like South Korea and Japan first.
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But trade deals are incredibly complex arrangements usually negotiated over the course of years, not months.
And even if Trump were to negotiate trade with all those countries over a short period — whether full deals or letters of agreement that put a framework of a deal together — China, the world's biggest exporter, remains the elephant in the room.
US tariffs on China are now at least 145 per cent and China on Friday retaliated with 125 per cent tariffs of its own.
That will do enormous damage to the world's two largest economies, and both sides have said they are not eager to back down.
China has consistently said it is open to negotiations, but wants to do it in a way in which it will be respected.
China has ignored America's warnings not to raise its tariffs, according to a source familiar with the discussions.
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In the meantime, economists have been unmoved by Trump's sudden change in tune. Although negotiated trade agreements would undoubtedly be good news for the economy, much of the damage has already been done, Wall Street economists have argued.
And punishing 10 per cent universal tariffs remain in place, as do 25 per cent tariffs on autos, 25 per cent tariffs on some goods from Mexico and Canada, and 25 per cent tariffs on steel and aluminum.
That's why JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs say the likelihood of the United States and the global economies going into a recession this year are basically a coin flip.
Brawl between two Perth mothers captured on CCTV
An investigation has been launched into a fist fight between two mothers in Perth's northern suburbs.
The incident, which started as a dispute between students, was captured on CCTV.
In the footage, one woman's glasses flew off her face while a phone was launched at a wall.
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The two mothers then fell over and started to tug at each other's hair.
The pair separated briefly but a schoolboy intervened and the scuffle picked up again.
The fight happened at Melissa's home in the Vines in the city's outer suburbs in November.
"It was frightening, shocking," she said.
Melissa said she was left with facial injuries and chunks of hair missing.
"It was confronting, especially at your own home," she said.
The women's children are classmates at Aveley Secondary College in Ellenbrook, a suburb where youth crime is plaguing the community.
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Just over a week ago a 14-year-old was left with a broken jaw after a shopping centre attack, allegedly at the hands of a fellow Aveley Secondary College student.
Last year an Aveley student lost his two front teeth in a toilet block bashing.
In the case involving Melissa, the other mother involved did not want to speak on camera but claimed she was attacked first.
9News understands she was working at a nearby public school at the time.
A Department of Education spokesperson said any allegation of inappropriate behaviour by staff is taken very seriously.
Support is available at Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Kids Helpline 1800 55 1800.
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