Australia – Tensions rise after police shoot two Aboriginal teenagers in stolen car
The shooting happened in Sydney’s busy King’s Cross nightclub district. The teenagers mounted a crowded footpath in a stolen car.
Australian Police have shot two indigenous Aboriginal teenagers who drove a stolen car onto a crowded footpath in central Sydney.
AFP reports that both the 14-year-old driver and his 18-year-old passenger were hit by bullets fired into the windscreen when they refused to stop.
The news agency says the incident has stoked race tensions in the city.
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According to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation the teenagers are both in hospital, and the younger of the two is in a critical condition.
It adds that four teenage passengers are now assisting police with their inquiries.
Assistant police commissioner Mark Murdoch reportedly told The Telegraph that the incident happened at 4am on Saturday morning in the King's Cross nightclub district. He says that onlookers "literally jumped for their lives" to avoid the car, and a 29-year-old woman was hit and suffered chest injuries.
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Murdoch said police had recognized the driver and passenger as youths from Redfern, a disadvantaged inner city suburb with a large Aboriginal population.
AM reports that police have met with Aboriginal leaders in Redfern in an effort to diffuse the situation, and are considering deploying more units to the area to prevent any potential unrest.