Apex thugs knocked out in viral videoA VIDEO posted to social media purporting to show a group of men engaged in a street fight has gone viral.
The 10-second Snapchat video, titled "Goodnight Apex: Sudanese thugs get decked", was first uploaded to YouTube by far right-wing group Party For Freedom Australia on Wednesday.
"Two Aussies defend themselves in a fight against four Sudanese in Beaumont Street, Hamilton, 11th June 2017," reads description of the video, which was filmed at the intersection of Beaumont and Cleary Streets in Newcastle, opposite The Kent Hotel.
The Apex Gang is believed to be behind a series of carjackings, home invasions, assaults and robberies in Melbourne over the past year. Despite the gang being reported as predominantly of Sudanese origin, Victorian police say it is made up of "Australian-born offenders".
There have been no reports of the Apex Gang being in Newcastle and there is no evidence that the men in the video are members of the gang, police say.
According to the Party For Freedom website, the fight broke out at about 1am on Sunday. "The Sudanese troublemakers were drinking in the Hotel Kent verbally abusing patrons while trying to start fights with anyone in the hotel," it says.
However, news.com.au understands this version of events is incorrect, and that the four men were never inside hotel itself as they had previously been banned from the venue.
Although the video claims to show the "Aussies" defending themselves, the video itself only shows footage where the "Aussie" men appear to be the aggressors.
Chief Inspector Terry Burns from the Newcastle Police said officers were called to an alleged brawl outside the Oasis Food Court on Sunday morning "involving a number of males". "Two males were still on the scene when police arrived, however all other parties had left," he said.
"The two males were being treated for minor facial injuries. At this stage we're still appealing for people to assist us with the identity of a number of persons that were involved in the fight. Inquiries are ongoing. We've released the CCTV and we're confident we will obtain their identities."
No one has yet been charged over the incident. "We've actually appealed for them to come forward before we knock on their doors," Insp. Burns said.