Protests erupt after arrest in Kumanjayi Little Baby death investigation
Updated ,first published
Warning: This story contains images of a deceased Indigenous person.
The disappearance and death of a five-year-old girl has sparked violent turmoil in the heart of Australia.
The images in Alice Springs show that fire, tear gas and rubber bullets were used on the crowd in front of the hospital in the town where the kidnap suspect was treated late on Thursday night.
The tragic death of Little Baby Kumanjayi and the violence that followed has now captured the nation’s attention.
What happened overnight in Alice Springs?
An angry crowd of protesters gathered at Alice Springs Hospital late on Thursday after news spread that police had captured Jefferson Lewis and taken him to the facility.
Northern Territory Police Commissioner Martin Dole said officers received several calls around 9.30pm that Lewis was at one of the town camps in Alice Springs and had been violently attacked.
Lewis became the subject of one of the Northern Territory’s biggest ever manhunts after he allegedly kidnapped a little girl from a camp in the town of Alice Springs on Saturday night.
Kumanjayi Little Baby’s body was found on the banks of the Todd River just before noon (NT time) on Thursday. Police announced that Lewis was arrested at a house in Alice Springs at around 9.30pm.
Local people soon gathered at the hospital where he was taken and a riot broke out.
After protesters cursed and broke the windows of the police car, police took shelter and used tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse the crowd. As police officers tried to keep the crowd away, vehicles were set on fire and jumped on.
“We are outside Alice Springs Hospital and this is the site of a massacre,” NT spokeswoman Robyn Lambley said. Today Friday morning.
“It’s become a place where people have gone crazy. The service station across the road has been trashed. The smell of burning rubbish is in the air.
“It’s crazy that yesterday we were devastated and devastated after hearing about the loss of little Kumanjayi, and now have to deal with probably one of the biggest riots we’ve ever seen in Alice Springs.”
The superintendent also said on ABC radio that it had “devolved into absolute anarchy”.
How did the rebellion begin?
Dole said Friday morning that Lewis was arrested after police received calls that he had handed himself over to locals at the town camp rather than police and that he had been attacked.
Dole told Sky News: “The police were attacked by the crowd, as were the ambulance officers who were attending the incident at the time.” “We took Mr Lewis to Alice Springs Hospital for treatment.”
Soon after around 10pm, a crowd gathered outside the hospital, shouting “they’ve got him” and demanding that police hand Lewis over to be handled by the community.
Dole estimated about 400 people were there. He said they were trying to “get to” Lewis through what he considered an unacceptable form of vigilante revenge.
“The law should be applied equally to everyone,” he said, “and as Northern Territory police we take an oath to serve and protect and we don’t get to choose who we protect and that’s what we were doing last night.”
Lambley, the local MP for the NT parliamentary seat of Araluen, told Nine he was “started” and a police car was set on fire.
“The service station across the road, as I said, is completely trashed. I just went and looked and there was rubbish everywhere. There was a woman in labor and she couldn’t get to the hospital because of the riots. This is absolute madness.”
Dole said the violence lasted about five hours before police dispersed the crowd.
“I think there’s a lot of pain and sadness and tensions are still high, but look, last night’s violence has been quelled,” he said.
Dole later told reporters that a fire and rescue officer suffered a “significant facial injury” during the riot, while a police officer had to receive stitches for a head wound.
“As a result of this violence, many ambulance officers were also attacked and suffered soft tissue injuries,” he said.
Dole added that a woman was arrested for an attempted arson attack on a police car and that four of five ambulances in Alice Springs were “taken out of action” by the chaos.
“I believe there will be other arrests today as we identified those who exhibited this behavior last night,” he said.
Indigenous Australians Minister Malarndirri McCarthy appealed for calm on ABC Radio.
“There must now be a proper process in place in terms of this criminal investigation, and this should not be foolishly compromised,” he said in a statement Friday morning.
Who is Jefferson Lewis and where was he arrested?
Lewis, 47, was wanted by police in connection with the disappearance of Little Baby Kumanjayi on Saturday night.
Acting NT Police Commander Mark Grieve said Lewis was known to the family and was likely “in and around the house” at the Old Timers Camp at the same time as the five-year-old girl.
Police Commissioner Dole said Friday that Lewis’ ability to evade detection from Sunday to Thursday led him to believe someone was helping him.
“And my message to these people is: You better watch out, because when we find out who you are, we’re going to come for you, too,” Dole said.
This tag was told that Lewis eventually showed up at Charles Creek.
Dole later told reporters that Lewis was unconscious when police found him, adding, “From what I’m told, he took a pretty severe beating.” “Mr Lewis has since been transferred to Darwin via the police air wing at around 3.30am.”
Has a criminal complaint been filed?
Jefferson Lewis was charged with the murder of Little Baby Kumanjayi on Saturday night.
Northern Territory Police Commissioner Martin Dole announced the charge on Sunday morning and said Lewis would appear in Darwin court next week.
“This matter is currently before the courts and as a result it would be inappropriate for the police to comment further or discuss the events in detail,” he said.
Where was Kumanjayi Little Baby’s body found?
The five-year-old girl who was abducted and found dead near Alice Springs will now be called Little Baby Kumanjayi, in accordance with her family’s wishes and local Indigenous traditions.
His body was found near the dry Todd River, five kilometers south of Old Timer’s Aboriginal Town Camp, at around noon on Thursday.
In an emotional press conference, police described it as the “worst possible outcome” of a five-day search.
Kumanjayi Little Baby’s grieving mother said in her statement that the child was very loved.
“I know you, along with the rest of your family, are in heaven with Jesus, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit,” he said.
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Lachlan Abbott is a crime reporter for The Age. She was previously a city reporter, covering breaking news.Connect via email.
