Authorities in central Australia have arrested or charged at least 19 individuals in connection with last week’s violent unrest in Alice Springs, with 13 additional suspects formally charged on Monday.
The Northern Territory Police Force confirmed in a statement that the latest group of suspects was identified through CCTV footage allegedly linking them to aggravated burglaries at a Shell Express service station and a Pigglys Supermarket.
Among those charged were five women aged 24, 36, 36, 43, and 48, alongside six men and a male youth aged 17, 20, 26, 29, 32, 36, and 44.
One of the 36-year-old suspects faces multiple charges, including unlawfully causing serious harm, aggravated assault, and breaching a domestic violence order. Most of the others are being charged with aggravated burglary and theft, among related offences. Police have indicated that more suspects have been identified and further arrests are anticipated.
The unrest broke out on Thursday in the remote town of Alice Springs in Australia’s Northern Territory and escalated into Friday morning outside a hospital, where police had taken a 47-year-old man accused in a separate killing case involving a missing child.
During the chaos, several police officers, firefighters, and emergency responders were injured as crowds attempted to reach the suspect at the hospital. Authorities responded with non-lethal and chemical agents to disperse the gathering.
Police had earlier been searching for the man, identified as Jefferson Lewis, since April 26 after five-year-old Kumanjayi Little Baby was reported abducted from her home in Old Timers Camp, an Aboriginal settlement on the outskirts of Alice Springs.
Lewis was reportedly located in Alice Springs on Thursday and assaulted before being taken into custody unconscious. He was later transported to hospital, where a large crowd gathered in an attempt to confront him. He was discharged later that night and removed from the town under police protection.
Separately, five individuals aged 18, 26, 34, 46, and 49 were arrested on Sunday in connection with aggravated burglaries targeting a service station and supermarket in The Gap suburb of Alice Springs. Formal charges are expected.
Authorities reported that both businesses suffered extensive damage, with losses estimated at $75,700 and property damage exceeding $57,700.
A woman previously arrested during the riots for allegedly setting fire to a police vehicle was formally charged on Saturday.
In a related development, police confirmed on Sunday that Lewis has now been officially charged with the murder of Kumanjayi Little Baby. He is scheduled to appear before the Alice Springs Local Court on Tuesday via audiovisual link.
