Violence Erupts in Australian Town After Arrest of Suspect in Girl’s Killing
The New York Times • • general
Key Points:
- Violence broke out in a rural town in northern Australia after a man, Jefferson Lewis, was suspected of killing a five-year-old Indigenous girl, Kumanjayi Little Baby, leading to a crowd assaulting him and clashing with police during his arrest.
- Police transported Lewis to a hospital in Alice Springs, where hundreds of people gathered, throwing rocks and bottles at officers while demanding Lewis be killed and accusing police of protecting him.
- Emergency vehicles were damaged or set on fire as police used rubber bullets and tear gas to disperse the crowd, resulting in visible damage and looting near the hospital the following morning.
- Authorities had been searching for the missing five-year-old girl for five days in the rugged terrain near the Old Timers Aboriginal Town Camp south of Alice Springs before the incident.
