Rioting crowds demand 'payback' as suspect in little girl's death flown out by police

Riots have erupted in Australia after police captured the man believed to be responsible for the abduction and murder of missing five-year-old girl, Kumanjayi Little Baby. The youngster’s body was discovered on Thursday , April 30, approximately three miles from where she was last seen alive on Saturday. That same evening, Northern Territory Police tracked down recently released prisoner Jefferson Lewis, 47, at Charles Creek Camp on the outskirts of Alice Springs in the Australian Outback. Officers arrived to find a 200-strong crowd already "taking justice into their own hands", Northern Territory Police Commissioner Martin Dole said, with the vigilante crowd beating the murder suspect “within an inch of his life”. The NT top cop continued: "Our police officers were attacked at that time, as were the St John Ambulance crew that attended to assist," he said. "They were turned on by about 200 people, but they were able to get out of there and get Mr Lewis to hospital." He noted that Lewis likely presented himself to the camp knowing there was a strong contingent of Warlpiri people there. Sources confirmed Lewis was hospitalised just before 10pm. Kumanjayi Little Baby is of the region's tribal community known as the Warlpiri mob. Mob meaning family, or community, to Indigenous Australians. But the city was still seething after the girl's tragic death, with a furious crowd of locals deciding to take justice into their own hands. A 400-strong crowd gathered outside Alice Springs Hospital late on Thursday, with the lynch mob demanding the facility hand the suspected child killer over to them. When the crowd was refused, the central Australian city devolved into a state of utter anarchy. In video footage of the wild scenes, police can be heard telling people to “back up” as tensions escalated. Members of the crowd were heard demanding “payback”—traditional punishment under Aboriginal tribal law—and shouting “bring him out.” A police car was set alight, while officers reportedly used rubber bullets and tear gas to disperse the enraged crowd. By Friday morning, Commissioner Dole told the ABC that several police officers, two St John Ambulance officers, and one firefighter had been injured. Four out of the five ambulances servicing the entire population of Alice Springs were damaged and rendered inoperable. Several police vehicles were also destroyed. Due to the violence, Lewis was evacuated to Darwin in the early hours of Friday morning. "Our police swear an oath to serve and protect; we don’t get to choose who we protect, so the safety of Mr Lewis was important as well," he told ABC Radio. Confirming that charges are imminent, the Commissioner told News.com.au the overnight violence was unacceptable. "Those responsible will be held accountable, just like Mr Lewis has been held accountable for the crimes he committed." Despite the anarchy, Commissioner Dole distinguished the rioters from the broader community response. “This does not reflect Alice Springs or what we’ve seen over the last five days, where we’ve seen extraordinary strength, compassion, and cooperation,” he said. Kumanjayi Little Baby’s grandfather, a senior Warlpiri elder and family spokesperson, has since called for calm. “It is time now for sorry business, to show respect for our family and have space for grieving,” Mr Granites said in a statement on Friday. “Our children are precious; of course we are feeling angry and hurt, but what has happened this week is not our way. This man has been caught, and we must now let justice take its course.” The Warlpiri elder urged those in bush communities to avoid traveling to Alice Springs unless joining sorry business. “Now is not the time to be heroes on social media or make trouble. We need to be strong for each other and respect cultural practice. This is the Yapa way.” The girl’s disappearance sparked one of the largest searches in Northern Territory history, involving over 200 volunteers, ATVs, helicopters, and Aboriginal trackers. The search covered a 7.72-square-mile radius—nearly seven times the size of the City of London—through shoulder-high barrel grass and punishing terrain.