An 11-year-old boy has been charged after he allegedly assaulted a 69-year-old man who police say was trying to stop a group of people throwing rocks at his neighbour's house.
The incident took place last month in the southern Perth suburb of Bentley.
Police say the older man was standing outside his home on Ashburton Street when he observed a group of unknown males throwing rocks at a home across the road.
He became involved in a verbal altercation with the group before he was spat on and punched in the face, causing him to fall to the ground.
While he lay on the ground, police allege the males repeatedly punched and kicked him, leaving him with facial and other injuries.
Police said the man required hospital treatment because of the severity of his injuries.
Acting Detective Senior Sergeant Grant Winslow said the man went to hospital for treatment, suffering swelling to the side of his face, bruising and lacerations inside his mouth.
"[He's] extremely lucky in this case not to have any lifelong injuries as a result," he said.
"Violence of this nature is not going to be tolerated in our community and we will take every step to catch these people.
"If the people who are involved in this incident are watching this, please come forward and hand yourselves in to police."
Acting Detective Senior Sergeant Winslow described the behaviour as "cowardly" and "abhorrent".
"The gentleman who was assaulted was out the front of his home, going about his business," he said.
"He's noticed three juveniles across the road at a house which was under construction, he's approached them and asked them to stop throwing stones.
The ABC has seen unedited footage, with no blurring of those involved.
It shows a man being surrounded by three youths and as he is punched and kicked and goes to the ground, one of the males appeared to hold the man in a headlock.
That male seemed to headbutt the man to the side of his face several times, while another male appears to kick the man's head multiple times.
The smaller of the three males, who was also lashing out at the man, appears to throw a rock at him as he lay on the road.
As the three dispersed, the male who appeared to be doing the kicking appeared to thrust his foot at the man's head.
The attack appeared to end when an adult male, who police say was "associated" with the 11-year-old boy, arrived on the scene.
The man was seen to walk away without providing assistance to the man.
WA Premier Roger Cook said he had seen footage of the alleged assault, but maintained Perth did not have a youth crime problem.
"What we do have right across our major metropolitan high population areas is a complete disregard for public safety," he said.
"And an increasing disregard for common decency, I think, driven a lot by the modern media world in which we live."
Mr Cook emphasised the importance of having "police on the beat" so that people could be protected.
"We need to send a message to any form of physical violence, but particularly in terms of the older members of our community," he said.
The 11-year-old boy who's been charged with acts or omissions causing bodily harm or danger is set to appear in Armadale Children's Court on February 16.
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