A 21-year-old man has died after being stabbed on a Tennant Creek street overnight, with police saying they are investigating whether the incident could be related to ongoing feuding in the town.
In a press conference, Northern Territory Police Acting Commander Mark Grieve said officers had received multiple reports about 1:10am today.
He said police believed a large crowd had been present when the man was attacked.
“Upon arrival, five minutes later, at quarter past one, police located the 21-year-old at the intersection of Staunton and Grigg street,” Acting Commander Grieve said.
“The male had a significant stab wound to his upper body, resulting in severe blood loss.
“First aid and medical attention was provided by police, followed by St Johns [Ambulance] upon their arrival, however the male was declared deceased at approximately 1:55am.”
St John Ambulance NT attended the scene, along with police, but were unable to save the man. (ABC News: Michael Franchi)
In a statement earlier on Friday, police said the man had been found “with a laceration to his neck”.
A crime scene has been established, with local and Major Crime detectives investigating the death.
Acting Commander Grieve said the investigation would involve assessing if the incident was linked to recent unrest in the town.
“There’s been some ongoing disturbances in Tennant Creek over the last week, stemming from some riotous behaviour on the weekend,” he said.
“We had one person seriously injured and some vehicles set alight, so we believe there’s been a few flare-ups based in and around some family feuding.”
Mark Grieve says police believe the stabbing may be related to recent unrest in Tennant Creek. (ABC News: Samantha Dick)
He said police believed the 21-year-old was a Tennant Creek local, but had not yet confirmed if he had known his attacker.
“I suppose … it’s probably easy to assume that, being a small community, especially around football time — the out-of-town communities come in, they intermingle, they mix,” he said.
Acting Commander Grieve said officers were reaching out to elders in the region to initiate talks, to prevent potential acts of payback and the risk of further violence.
He said police were searching for other people they believe were present when the incident occurred.
Anyone with information about the incident has been asked to contact police on 131 444 or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
