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 uproar in the heart of Australia.
Images out of Alice Springs show fires, tear gas and rubber bullets being used on crowds outside the town’s hospital where the accused abductor was being treated late on Thursday night.
The tragic death of Kumanjayi Little Baby, and its violent aftermath, have now captured the attention of the country.
What happened in Alice Springs overnight?
An angry crowd of protesters converged on Alice Springs Hospital late on Thursday after news spread that police had captured Jefferson Lewis and taken him to the facility.
Officers received numerous calls about 9.30pm that Lewis was at one of the town camps in Alice Springs and was being violently assaulted, Northern Territory Police Commissioner Martin Dole said.
Lewis became the subject of one of the Northern Territory’s biggest ever manhunts after it was alleged that he had taken a little girl from an Alice Springs town camp on Saturday night.
The body of Kumanjayi Little Baby had been found just before midday (NT time) on Thursday beside the Todd River. Police announced that Lewis was arrested at an Alice Springs home about 9.30pm.
Locals soon gathered at the hospital where he was taken and a riot erupted.
Police took shelter and used tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse the crowd after protesters hurled abuse and smashed police car windows. Vehicles were set alight and jumped on as officers attempted to move the crowd along.
“We’re outside the Alice Springs Hospital, and it is the site of carnage,” NT Speaker Robyn Lambley told Today on Friday morning.
“It’s been a place where people have gone crazy. The service station across the road has been trashed. The smell of burning garbage is in the air.
“To go from being distraught and bereft yesterday – after hearing about the loss of little Kumanjayi – to now having to deal with probably one of the biggest riots we’ve seen in Alice Springs ever, it’s crazy.”
The chief commissioner also said on ABC radio that “it descended into absolute anarchy”.
How did the riot begin?
Dole said on Friday morning that Lewis was arrested after police received calls that he’d given himself up to locals at a town camp, rather than police, and was being attacked.
“The police were set upon by the crowds at that time, as were the ambulance officers that were attending,” Dole told Sky News. “We evacuated Mr Lewis to the Alice Springs Hospital for treatment.”
A crowd soon gathered outside the hospital, about 10pm, shouting “they got him” and demanding police hand Lewis over to be dealt with by the community.
Dole estimated up to 400 people were present. He said they tried to “get at” Lewis in what he agreed was an unacceptable form of vigilante payback.
“The law must apply equally to everybody,” 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 parliament seat of Araluen, told Nine “it kicked off” and a police car was set on fire.
“The service station, as I said, across the road, has been completely trashed. I just went and had a look before – there’s rubbish strewn everywhere. There was a woman in labour who couldn’t access the hospital because of the riot. This is just madness.”
Dole said the violence lasted about five hours before police dispersed the crowd.
“I think there’s a lot of grief and sorrow, and tensions do remain high, but look, the violence from last night has been quelled,” he said.
Dole later told reporters that a fire and rescue officer had suffered “a significant facial injury” in the riot, while a police officer had to get stitches for a head wound.
“Several ambulance officers were also attacked and received soft tissue injuries as a result of that violence,” he said.
A woman was arrested for the attempted arson of a police sedan, Dole added, and four of the five ambulances in Alice Springs were “taken out of action” in the chaos.
“I do believe there will be further arrests made today as we identify those behaving in that conduct last night,” he said.
Minister for Indigenous Australians Malarndirri McCarthy called for calm on ABC Radio.
“There needs to be a proper process now in terms of this criminal investigation, and it must not be jeopardised by foolishness,” she said on Friday morning.
Who is Jefferson Lewis, and where was he arrested?
Lewis, a 47-year-old man, was wanted by police in relation to the disappearance of Kumanjayi Little Baby on Saturday night.
Lewis was known to the family and likely “in and around the house” at Old Timers Camp at the same time as the five-year-old girl, said NT Police acting commander Mark Grieve.
Dole, the police commissioner, said on Friday that the ability of Lewis to evade detection from Sunday to Thursday led him to believe somebody was assisting him.
“And my message for those people is you better watch out,” Dole said, “because when we find out who you are, we’ll be coming for you as well.”
This masthead has been told that Lewis eventually turned up in Charles Creek.
“He received quite a severe beating, I’m told,” Dole said, later telling reporters that Lewis was unconscious when police found him. “Mr Lewis has since been transferred via police air wing to Darwin at about 3.30am.”
Have charges been laid?
Jefferson Lewis was charged on Saturday night with murdering Kumanjayi Little Baby.
Northern Territory Police Commissioner Martin Dole announced the charge on Sunday morning, and said Lewis would appear in a Darwin court later next week.
“This matter is now before the courts, and as a result, it would be inappropriate for the police to provide further comment or discuss in detail the events,” he said.
Where was Kumanjayi Little Baby’s body found?
The five-year-old girl abducted and found dead near Alice Springs is now to be referred to Kumanjayi Little Baby, according to her family’s wishes and local Indigenous custom.
Her body was found five kilometres south of Old Timers Aboriginal Town Camp, near the dry Todd River about midday on Thursday.
In an emotional press conference, police labelled it “the worst possible outcome” of a five-day search.
Kumanjayi Little Baby’s grieving mother, in a statement, said the child was so loved.
“I know you are in heaven with the rest of the family with Jesus, and the Father, Son and Holy Spirit,” she said.
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Lachlan Abbott is a crime reporter at The Age. Previously, he was a city reporter and covered breaking news.Connect via email.
