Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people should be aware that this contains images and names of a deceased person.

A woman has been charged with allegedly setting fire to a police car during the riots in Alice Springs on Thursday night.

Violence broke out in Alice Springs following the arrest of Jefferson Lewis, the suspected killer of Kumanjayi Little Baby.

About 400 people rioted outside the Alice Springs Hospital on Thursday night where the suspect was being treated for critical injuries.

Police stood outside the hospital, holding riot shields, as crowds threw rocks, set bins on fire and torched cars.

Officers deployed tear gas and rubber bullets to try to disperse the crowd.

Police have since charged a Northern Territory woman after she allegedly used a lighter to set fire to dried grass underneath a police car about 10.40pm Saturday.

The woman was arrested at the scene and officers tried to extinguish the flames before it caused any more damage.

“Despite this, the vehicle sustained about $20,000 damage as the unrest continued,” a police statement read.

She has since been charged with one count of attempted arson and one count of taking part in a riot.

She remains in custody and is due to face court next week.

Police expect more arrests and charged to be laid as the investigations into the riot continues.

An angry mob burned a police car following the death of Kumanjayi Little Baby Picture: Gera Kazakov
The tragic death of five-year-old Kumanjayi Little Baby has exposed systemic failures in community protection, Indigenous leaders say, sparking fresh demands for change.

The nation came to a standstill when the young girl’s body was found near the banks of the Todd River, just 5km south of her home on Thursday.

Now, The Aboriginal Cultural and Education Centre is calling for immediate action to ensure another young indigenous life is not lost.

“A child who should have been safe and protected is gone. This should never have happened — and we must ask why,” the group says.

“This tragedy is not an isolated incident. It reflects broader systemic failures that continue to impact Aboriginal communities across Australia.”

Kumanjayi Little Baby was allegedly kidnapped and murdered this week. She was just five years old. Picture: NT Police
The Aboriginal Cultural and Education Centre called for immediate action including safe, secure and culturally appropriate housing, investment in community-led projects and a reduction in incarceration with greater focus on rehabilitation and prevention.

“The roots of this crisis lie in the historical dispossession of Aboriginal people from their lands, the destruction of culture and language, and ongoing systemic inequality,” The Aboriginal Cultural and Education Centre says.

“Today, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people make up approximately 3–4 per cent of Australia’s population yet represent around 30 per cent of the prison population.”

“They are incarcerated at more than 13 times the rate of non-Indigenous Australians, despite the findings of the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody, which outlined critical reforms — many of which remain unimplemented.”

Charges to be laid against alleged killer

Charges against Jefferson Lewis, the suspected killer of Kumanjayi Little Baby, are expected to be laid on Saturday.

The 47-year-old was arrested on Thursday night over the alleged murder after the 5-year-old was last seen by her family at their home at Old Timers Camp on the outskirts of Alice Springs on Saturday evening.

The young girl’s body was found near the banks of the Todd River, just 5km south of her home earlier that day.

Following days of unrest in the Northern Territory, the state’s Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro says she expects Lewis, who she described as a “monster”, will be charged on Saturday.

Jefferson Lewis was arrested on Thursday evening over the alleged abduction and murder of the child. Picture: Supplied
“We’re expecting police to lay charges today … obviously (police) are being left to do their important work and no one wants to jeopardise anything that gets in the way of bringing the person who did this to justice,” she told Sunrise on Saturday morning.

“But I think Territorians and Australians who are incredibly invested in this outcome would expect to see police make a move today.”