Riots erupt over Australian Aboriginal girl’s murder as suspect arrested

Hundreds of protesters have clashed with emergency workers in a remote Australian town after police arrested a man suspected of murdering a five-year-old Indigenous girl.

Police say about 400 people gathered at Alice Springs Hospital in the Northern Territory, where the suspect was taken on Friday after locals beat him until he was unconscious.

Australia’s public broadcaster ABC broadcast images of a crowd calling for “payback”, which refers to traditional, mostly physical, punishment in Aboriginal societies. They threw projectiles and lit fires, injuring a number of police officers and medical workers.

Police vehicles, ambulances and fire trucks were damaged in the chaos. Police used tear ⁠gas to disperse the protesters.

Girl missing since late Saturday

Northern Territory Police Commissioner Martin Dole said the violence erupted when Jefferson Lewis, the 47-year-old man police believe abducted and killed the young girl named by her family as Kumanjayi Little Baby, presented himself to police at one of the town camps in Alice Springs.

“As a result of presenting himself, members of that town camp decided to inflict vigilante justice upon Jefferson,” he said.

The girl had been missing from her home on the outskirts of Alice Springs since late Saturday. Her body was found on Thursday during a search by hundreds of people in dense bushland around the town, a popular tourist destination.

Call for calm

Lewis, who had been identified as a suspect by police earlier in the week, has past convictions for physical assault and was recently released from prison.

“I just call for calm across ‌the community ⁠today … I’d like to think that what we saw last night is an aberration,” Dole said, adding that Lewis had been moved to the territory capital Darwin in the early hours of Friday morning for his safety. He is likely to be charged in the coming days.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he understood “people’s anger and frustration” but urged the community to come together.

Robin Granites, a senior Aboriginal elder and spokesperson for the family, also appealed for restraint.

“This man has been caught, thanks to community action, and we ⁠must now let justice take its course while we take the time to mourn Kumanjayi Little Baby and support our family,” he said in a statement.

“Now is not the time to be heroes on social media or make trouble.”

A day-long ban will apply to sales of takeaway alcohol and more police will be arriving from Darwin to prevent further escalation, ⁠Northern Territory Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro said. Alcohol restrictions are already enforced in the town on certain days of the week in an effort to reduce crime.