Alleged armed altercation at Casuarina bus interchange leaves two in hospital

ABC NEWS (Australia)

Northern Territory Police say an altercation involving edged weapons in Darwin's northern suburbs yesterday afternoon has left a 14-year-old girl and 27-year-old man in hospital. Starting at Casuarina bus interchange, the incident is one of three alleged assaults in the area in the past week. It comes as the NT Government explores phasing out bus interchanges altogether, in an attempt to address what they say are hot spots for anti-social behaviour.

Transcript

00:00An urgent call for backup.

00:05Security guards at the Kazarina bus interchange, among the first to contact police about a

00:09disturbance at 2.45pm yesterday.

00:12The information that police received was that the altercation involved a number of males,

00:16some of them armed with edged weapons.

00:19From there, police say, the conflict spilled across the street to a nearby laneway, where

00:23a 27-year-old man was stabbed in the upper chest.

00:27During the altercation, there was also a 14-year-old female youth who received a stab

00:32or laceration wound to her arm.

00:34Two men, aged 33 and 45, were quickly arrested by transit safety officers and police, who

00:40seized two knives.

00:42Both men are in custody awaiting charges, while the two injured remain hospitalised

00:47in a stable condition.

00:48Police today reassured the public they're using measures like the government's new

00:52wanding laws to keep commuters safe.

00:54But targeting bus interchanges themselves could be the government's next move.

00:59The minister responsible, Mr Yan, is looking at a reprogram and a review of the whole bus

01:05system and I think he's talking about having buses that run around and maybe moving or

01:10not having interchanges at all and just having bus routes that go from stop to stop.

01:16Passengers today weren't convinced.

01:19Routes like this, terminal bus stops, this is where the safety is, I believe, and this

01:26is where we have our security coming around and watching us, serving us, supporting us.

01:35I think moving it is just moving the problem somewhere else, rather than using the mechanisms

01:42they've already got in place.

01:43A spokesperson from the government department responsible for public transport says it will

01:48consult with all stakeholders about improving bus safety.

Category

Transcript

Recommended