May 1 (UPI) -- Authorities in central Australia called for calm Friday after police and rioters clashed overnight in remote Alice Springs following the arrest of a man accused of killing a 5-year-old Aboriginal girl.
Several police officers, firefighters and emergency services workers were injured in the unrest, prompting officials to use non-lethal and chemical munitions to disperse the crowd, authorities said. At least one police vehicle was destroyed, three or four sustained significant damage, at least three of the region's five ambulances were knocked out of commission and several fire rescue vehicles needed repairs.
A female was arrested for trying to set fire to a police vehicle, but Northern Territory Police Force Commissioner Martin Dole told reporters at a press conference on Friday that he expected more people who were involved to be detained throughout the day.
"Just let me say that the behavior that we saw last night cannot be explained away, excused or accepted," he said. "There is absolutely no excuse for violence against emergency services that are just doing their job."
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