Terror in Alice Springs: Cars are set on fire and an indigenous television station is vandalized

Alice Springs was hit with another night of chaos Friday as cars were set on fire, houses were torched and a television station was broken into.

Shocking images posted online show a car burning brightly with flames shooting up into the night sky, while other images show multiple police cars chasing allegedly stolen vehicles.

Meanwhile, a local said he had lost most of his possessions after a separate fire swept through his family’s home, which also burned two other houses and several cars.

The fire, which has destroyed property in a rural area near the Alice Springs airport, is believed to have been started deliberately.

Businessman Darren Clarke, who often calls for more action on inner-city crime and has seen his bakery robbed dozens of times, has made an impassioned call for Anthony Albanese to crack down on inner-city crime. of the NT in a call to ben fordham in 2GB.

We’ve had another night of total anarchy. Our CBD is full of young people, it’s full of drunks. He’s out of control. We have had businesses robbed. A vandalized indigenous television station, a vehicle full of stolen technical equipment.

We have a car on fire in the K-Mart parking lot. Another car burned down in another suburb. When does this stop?

‘Albanese, come up to the plate. Start taking care of your people or this place will burn to the ground. Or you won’t have anyone living here.

We’ve had enough. Prime Minister, rule for all. If not, have someone else do it. This is simply not good enough anymore.

Video shows Clarke talking to police at the location of the burned-out car in the K-Mart parking lot.

There, they warn him that he is at a crime scene, to which he replies: ‘The whole place is a crime scene.’

Clarke, who also runs the Action for Alice Facebook group, posted several photos of the TV station Imparja, which was raided on Friday nights.

Photos show extensive damage to the studio, with walls vandalized and evidence that the offices were looted.

Meanwhile, another shocking video shows a gang of youths breaking into a business in the city.

Ben Crawford, owner of the business, shared CCTV of the raid.

He said: ‘Here we go again. It’s 1:45 in the morning on Saturday, the alarms went off tonight. Both me and the police attended and yes, they have entered again, obviously looking for the car keys.

‘I’m glad they took the decoy box off my office wall and got nothing.

‘The building has been made secure. Now to clean up the mess tomorrow morning after the forensics do their thing.

NT Government, this is the fifth time in two years. Start taking crime seriously, which you won’t because, once again, we don’t exist and these kids are classified as naughty little kids.

Earlier this month, NT police reported a drop in calls for domestic violence, property crime and alcohol-related violence after the introduction of stricter alcohol laws in the territory.

However, a 20-year-old worker was stabbed to death in a Darwin bottle shop earlier this week, sparking more calls for action to fight crime in the NT.

In January, national coverage of the crime wave led Albanese to visit the territory.

He pledged funds to address crime, including $25 million for community services, $2 million for the Tangentyere Council of Women, $2 million for high-visibility police operations, and $2 million for additional lighting and streetlights for the area.

However, locals say it hasn’t done enough to stop the violence in the area, with Clarke adding: “You didn’t want to come here.” The media forced you to come here. Well, why don’t you come over here now, friend? Look what’s left behind.

“Don’t just sit in Sydney’s West Gardens.”

Mr Clarke’s Action for Alice page recently returned to Facebook after serving a 28-day ban for bullying and harassment.