THE mother of a 19-year-old Bendigo man who was viciously bashed in a gang fight on Saturday night says her son "could have been killed".Police found the victim lying helpless in a large pool of blood in the middle of the road in front of the Town Hall after being called to a "barbaric" brawl involving 20 young men.The mother, who wishes to remain anonymous, explained she was most disgusted with a report from her son's friend, who witnessed the tail end of the attack."He said they (the offenders) all stood around him (her son) and did high fives while he was lying there in a pool of blood."Her son suffered a severely broken jaw and was flown to Royal Melbourne Hospital on Sunday after being admitted to Bendigo Hospital on Saturday night.He was scheduled to have facial reconstructive surgery last night."It worries me because someone is going to get killed, that's what it's leading up to," his mother said."It's very serious - they could have killed him (if the injury was) any higher on his head."You think you're safe living in a place like Bendigo, but you're not any more."He says what he thinks and will speak up and he will retaliate, but in this case he ran away; he didn't want to have a fight."I'm not going to compare them to animals, because animals are so much better than them - they are a group of cowards."The 19-year-old apprentice reportedly had a verbal argument with a member of the opposing gang in front of The Match restaurant and was punched in the face."He tried to escape, but was chased down by a second offender outside the Town Hall, where he was punched and kicked in the face by numerous people," Leading Senior Constable Herman said."At this stage there is no evidence to suggest a weapon was involved."It is believed males as young as 17 were involved in the alcohol-fuelled brawl."Why aren't parents doing something about it?" the victim's mother said."There should be something said about parents who let their children out when they are not legal, especially when some of them just want to start a fight and do harm."In a separate incident on the same night, an 18-year-old Bendigo male had his jaw broken after being king-hit outside the Bendigo Ice Creamery Cafe at the corner of Pall Mall and Bull Street.It is believed the victim and his friends left the scene before the major fight between the two gangs broke out minutes later.Police are still calling for witnesses of either attack to come forward.Anyone with information can contact Leading Senior Constable Herman on 5448 1300 or make an anonymous phone call to Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.