A mother tried to wind down a party that eventually spiralled out of control and left a 17-year-old fighting for his life with a stab wound to his chest.
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Riot police broke up a large brawl involving 50 to 60 males on an oval in Merrylands in the city's west at 11pm on Friday.
The brawl erupted after gatecrashers descended on a joint birthday celebration for a brother and a sister held at the nearby Merrylands Park function hall. The party was held to celebrate the brother's 18th birthday and the sister's 13th birthday.
The mother of a girl who was attending the 13th birthday estimated between 50 and 70 invited guests were at the party. No security was hired for the event.
"When my husband went down to pick her up there were a lot of groups of young people hanging out in the park area," the mother said, adding that the teenagers were doing burnouts in their cars.
The mother said her daughter was collected about 10pm, before the brawl broke out, as the mother of the children celebrating their birthdays had begun advising the younger children to go home.
"My daughter said a lot of people were just showing up. A lot of people the family didn't know," she said.
Fairfax Media has been toldby someone with knowledge of the party that the children's father locked the door of the function hall to protect the guests while they waited for the police to arrive. She claimed that none of the guests was involved in the brawl that took place outside the hall.
The mother was "an absolute mess", the mother of the girl who attended the party said.
"The family are very secluded, very quiet sort of people. This would be absolutely mortifying for them," she said.
Police say they're not sure whether the 17-year-old, who was stabbed in his chest and remains in a critical condition in Westmead Hospital, was invited to the function or turned up unannounced.
When police arrived at 11pm, the brawl was already in progress. A male was arrested after a police officer was hit on the arm with a bottle while trying to break up the fight. The officer was treated in hospital and later released.
The investigation into the stabbing is continuing. Police are appealing for anyone who may have witnessed the incident to come forward.
