Authorities in central Australia have urged calm following violent clashes between police and rioters in remote Alice Springs overnight, sparked by the arrest of a man accused of murdering a five-year-old Aboriginal girl.
According to officials, several police officers, firefighters, and emergency responders were injured during the unrest. Police deployed non-lethal and chemical munitions in an effort to disperse the crowd.
The violence left significant damage, including the destruction of one police vehicle, serious damage to three or four others, at least three of the region’s five ambulances taken out of service, and multiple fire and rescue vehicles requiring repairs.
A woman was arrested after allegedly attempting to set fire to a police vehicle. However, Martin Dole said during a press briefing on Friday that further arrests were expected.
“Just let me say that the behavior that we saw last night cannot be explained away, excused or accepted,” he said. “There is absolutely no excuse for violence against emergency services that are just doing their job.”
The unrest is linked to the search for 47-year-old Jefferson Lewis, who had been wanted since early Sunday after the disappearance of five-year-old Kumanjai Little Baby. Lewis was identified as a suspect in the case.
On Wednesday, investigators revealed they had secured a crime scene not far from the child’s abduction site, where children’s clothing was discovered along with DNA evidence matching both Lewis and the missing girl.
Authorities later announced on Thursday that a body believed to be that of Kumanjai Little Baby had been recovered. That same night, police confirmed Lewis had been taken into custody.
Dole explained that Lewis was located in one of Alice Springs’ town camps, where he was allegedly assaulted by members of the community.
He said some residents engaged in what he described as “vigilante justice,” prompting police intervention. Officers and emergency workers were then attacked while attempting to arrest and secure the suspect.
After being transported to hospital for treatment, a large crowd reportedly tried to storm the facility, leading to further clashes with police and additional injuries to officers, firefighters, and paramedics.
The arresting officer suffered a head injury requiring stitches, a firefighter sustained a serious facial wound, and several ambulance workers were treated for soft tissue injuries, Dole confirmed.
Despite the sustained violence, Lewis was discharged from hospital into police custody and has since been moved out of Alice Springs for safety reasons.
“He was removed last night for safety concerns — safety concerns for himself and emergency services workers,” Dole said.
Lia Finocchiaro also appealed for calm, praising earlier community efforts in the search for the missing child.
“We’ve seen this town come together like never before. Hundreds of people walking shoulder-to-shoulder through the long buffalo grass through the bush to make sure we left no stone unturned. And I don’t want last night to take away from that extraordinary effort that we have seen,” she said.
