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A boy was punched and kicked 16 times by two teenagers in front of horrified train commuters as he desperately tried to shield his face.
In shocking footage of the attack on a Queensland Rail train to Ipswich, near Brisbane, on Thursday the seated boy is seen briefly arguing with a group of teens.
One of the boys, who appeared to be wearing non-padded gloves, then laid into him with a flurry of blows to the head and upper body with both fists.
Several other older boys repeatedly yelled 'hit him' and egged the teen on as he landed more than a dozen punches.
The victim remained in his seat, curled into a ball and trying to cover his head with his hands and arms until he was kicked square in the face by his attacker.
Another boy then threw several punches before the others told him to 'leave it' and the attacked ended. The victim then got up and walked away.
At no point during the 30-second attack did any other train passengers attempt to step in and break it up, sparking outrage online.
Nadja Karlena said her 10 year-old-daughter and eight-year-old son were on the train on the way to school and were terrified as the attack to place in front of them.
She said the attackers were a group of boys who frequented trains from Ipswich to Goodna and often started fights in a group.
'The older boys not seen in this video but heard intimidate the boys by saying if you hit back we will get you, while they younger boys aged 12-14 hit into the other kids,' she said.
Ms Karlena got the video from a student riding on the train and posted it to Facebook after police 'said they were busy'.
Queensland Rail said it called the Railway Police after it was notified soon after the incident, who identified the attackers.
They also spoke with the victim's family and a witness, and beefed up security in the area.
'Our officers livestreamed CCTV at the two stations where the group exited the train to monitor the situation, while emergency services responded,' it told 9 News.
'Safety is Queensland Rail’s number one priority and we do not condone violent or disrespectful behaviour on our network.'
Enraged locals tracked down the alleged attackers and accomplices on Facebook to admonish them and demand explanations.
One of the boys who allegedly egged on the attackers claimed the victim and a group of five others 'started on' him and one friend, so he got the rest of his group and retaliated next time they saw them.