One woman was hit with a baseball bat during an assault on a group of Indigenous people that left two hospitalised in Darwin on Wednesday night.
Northern Territory police on Thursday said a group of six Indigenous people were sitting in a Darwin park when they were approached by three men and subjected to a “cowardly and unprovoked attack” shortly before 11pm.
The three men were described as Caucasian and the main aggressor as about 185cm tall, “of very muscular build” and in his early to mid-20s.
“He punched and kicked several of the group and was also brandishing a baseball bat at the time,” detective sergeant Karl Day told media on Thursday.
Day said the group was apparently sitting in Bicentennial Park in the city centre “minding their own business” when the trio walked up and began their attack.
At least four were assaulted, some from behind. One woman was hit with a baseball bat.
“As a result of the attack two of the victims were conveyed to Royal Darwin hospital,” Day said. “One of them received sutures to an injury on his arm. At this stage everyone has been released. It’s extremely fortunate that no one was more seriously injured.”
The men fled the scene on foot towards the city and police were reviewing CCTV footage.
Day said nothing specific was said by the men and police couldn’t say if their attack was racially based.
“There’s nothing to indicate anything that provoked the attackers,” Day said. “At this stage, other than it being a cowardly, violent, dangerous attack, we are too early to say what motivated it.”
Police have appealed for witnesses.
