A man has suffered a punctured lung after being shot in the chest in a bow attack in a remote aboriginal community in the Northern Territory.
Northern Territory Police said the 28-year-old victim turned up at the health clinic in the troubled township of Wadeye with an arrow wound to his chest early on Thursday morning
Police allege the man was walking along a dirt track near the town’s main oval at about 4am when a vehicle stopped nearby. A man then alleged got out, fired an arrow into the victim’s chest, and fled the area.
The man suffered a punctured lung and is in a stable condition. He will be medically evacuated to Darwin for further treatment.
Police said persons of interest have been identified, and detectives from the Northern Investigations Section are travelling to Wadeye to assist with the investigation.
Wadeye is home to about 2,000 people from 28 different clans, but tensions between the family groups have caused numerous incidents in recent years, sparking calls for the warring communities to be relocated to their tribal homelands.
Last month a large group of armed men attacked police with arrows and rocks, in March officers were attacked with spears, in February hundreds of armed men fought in the street during multiple large-scale disturbances, and in January 20 were arrested over a brawl involving hundreds of people, some armed with edged weapons.
Police regularly seize large weapons caches in the township, which have included spears, bows, crossbows, boomerangs, axes, star pickets, machetes, and traditional aboriginal clubs.
Header image: Weapons seized by police in Wadeye in January (NT Police).
