Riots Erupt in Australia After Arrest Over Killing of Aboriginal Girl

Hundreds of protesters clashed with emergency services in a remote Australian town after the arrest of a man suspected of killing a five-year-old Indigenous girl, police said on Friday.

Around 400 Indigenous residents gathered on Thursday night outside a hospital where the suspect was taken after being beaten unconscious by locals. Footage showed members of the crowd calling for “payback”, a term referring to traditional forms of punishment in some Aboriginal communities.

Protesters threw projectiles and lit fires, injuring police officers and medical workers and damaging emergency vehicles. Police used tear gas to disperse the crowd. The suspect was later transferred to Darwin for his own safety.

Jefferson Lewis, 47, who police believe abducted and killed the girl, turned himself in at a town camp in Alice Springs, Police Commissioner Martin Dole said.

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

The girl, referred to by her family as Kumanjayi Little Baby, had gone missing late on Saturday. Her body was found on Thursday during a search near Alice Springs.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese urged calm, saying he understood “people’s anger and frustration”. The family also called for restraint, urging the community to allow justice to take its course.

(reuters, bak)