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A young man will appear in court after being charged in a fatal crossbow attack that rocked a remote outback.
Additional police resources have been deployed in the community of Peppimenarti, 320 km south-west of Darwin, after the death of a 36-year-old man allegedly shot in the chest with an arrow late Tuesday night.
He was rushed to a local health clinic, but died a short time later.
An 18-year-old man helped the police with their investigation and has since been charged with manslaughter.
He will appear in Darwin court on Thursday.
Additional resources have been sent to the community, including major crime detectives, crime scene investigators and officers from the NT Police tactical group.
A man, 18, has been charged with manslaughter and shot dead with a crossbow in the remote community of Peppimenarti (pictured), about 200 miles south of Darwin
The alleged incident has also resulted in the West Daly Regional Council closing all services in Peppimenarti until further notice.
The local health clinic is also closed and calls are being forwarded to Palumpa health center, 30 miles away.
Investigators believe the incident is linked to ongoing unrest in nearby Wadeye, where violent clashes between rival indigenous clans were reported earlier this year.
“We think it will have to do with the ongoing disturbances that have been going on over time,” Detective Senior Sergeant Paul Morrissey told reporters.
National Indigenous Australians Agency Reconciliation Action Plan member of the central group Henry Wilson said the community has been devastated by the latest incident.
“Not everyone is okay,” he told NT News.
It is clear that the Northern Land Council has since called for an urgent meeting with the police and the police union.
Local authorities have struggled in recent months to stem the bloodshed in the wider West Daly region
In May, large-scale riots broke out in Wadeye, about 90 km west of Peppimenarti, which have since expanded to surrounding towns.
“Police are working with the elderly, the municipality and other government agencies to maintain the safety of the community,” a police said in a statement.
Violence between families and warring gangs has escalated in recent months across the West Daly region between families and warring gangs (pictured, local gangs armed with axes, hammers and machetes and a crossbow roam the streets of Wadeye)
The deadly crossbow attack is the latest in a series of incidents that shatter the outback community (pictured, man seen with an arrow through his forearm, believed to be in the surrounding town of Wadeye)
NT Chief Minister Natasha Fyles said the government is working to address issues in the region.
“These are complex, multifaceted problems that we will continue to address,” she said.
The latest incident comes after Peppimenarti was rocked by civil unrest, family fights and even a gunfire incident.
In November last year, bullets were reportedly fired into the community, prompting officers to flock to the city. A man was arrested after the shooting.
In 2020, a family feud led to a man shooting another in the chest with a compound bow arrow.
The gunman was found guilty of wrongfully causing serious damage and sentenced to time behind bars.
The feud, which broke out after a dog was hit, saw family members arguing on Peppimenarti’s basketball court.
Many of those involved in the fighting were armed with steel poles and stones.
Wadeye is a remote outback township 420 km south west of Darwin in the Northern Territory
But the violence pales in comparison to Wadeye’s West Daly community, an hour away.
Wadeye was founded to bring remote Aboriginal people together so they can access modern facilities.
The population has doubled to more than 4,000 people in the past 10 years. The community faces mass riots, gang wars, family home arson, critical food shortages and the displacement of hundreds of terrified residents.
About 500 people of the township’s 4,000 residents have fled.
About a quarter of the homes in the community have been damaged or destroyed by the violence, many by fire.