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A 16-year-old boy has been arrested over an alleged axe attack on another teenage boy in Alice Springs as “fed up” locals flood a crisis meeting to discuss a crime wave plaguing the outback town.
In confronting footage posted online, the young alleged victim appears to be curled up on the ground trying to protect himself as three others kick, punch and hit him with an axe.
9News understands he had been going for an afternoon walk and was allegedlyset upon outside a local pizza shop in the suburb of Braitling yesterday afternoon.
The video appears to show the boys dispersing as a bystander intervenes, screaming for them to stop.
“Do you think you’re tough ganging up on him? Wake up to yourself,” the man said.
The victim’s mother alleged the boy was hit multiple times in the face, stomach and leg, but that the axe did not cut him.
Paramedics responded and treated the boy at the scene before he was taken to the hospital.
The local mother posted details of the alleged attack to social media, with a message thanking the man who stepped in.
NT Police told 9News a 16-year-old boy had been arrested. No charges had been laid and no other arrests had been made.
Community meeting gripped by frustration
Hours after the incident, the local convention centre turned into a theatre of frustration.
Almost 3000 of the 30,000 Alice Springs residents attended a meeting to address the intensifying crime wave gripping the town.
Every seat in the room was filled, with members of the public spilling outside.
Long-term resident and meeting organiser Garth Thompson said alcohol-fuelled violence had caused residents and local business owners, like himself, to suffer financial loss over several years.
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He has called for support from the community for a $1.5 billion class action to compensate them. Some raised concerns about the tone of the meeting.
“The big thing about tonight is to be able to walk away knowing that we as a group have got each other’s back,” Thompson said.
“We deserve to be compensated for what the government has put us through.”
Mayor Matt Paterson attended the meeting but didn’t speak.
He told 9News he hoped the national attention the town was receiving would lead to change.
“It’s clear the community are pretty fed up with what is happening every single day in Alice Springs,” Paterson said.
“A lot of businesses and the tourism industry may suffer from this … we have had enough and we need change.
“We can’t keep saying the same thing over and over again.”
What is going on in Alice Springs?
Crime is on the rise in Alice Springs, with residents at their wits’ end after a surge of break-ins, vandalism and alcohol-related assaults.
The latest data released by NT Police showed alcohol-related assault jumped 55 per cent in the last year to November, while domestic and common assault both increased by 43 per cent and 54 per cent, respectively.
Commercial break-ins were up 56 per cent and reports of property damage climbed by almost 60 per cent.
A report from the newly appointed Central Australia regional controller will be handed to the Commonwealth this week, mapping out a plan forward on alcohol restrictions.
