SYDNEY, Feb. 15 (UPI) -- A large riot sparked by the death of an Australian aboriginal youth has been quelled in the inner Sydney suburb of Redfern, hours after it began.
Police say more than 100 people were involved, throwing rocks, bricks, fireworks and petrol bombs and setting the railway station set on fire, the Australian Broadcasting Corp. reported Monday. Police in riot gear hosed the rioters, forcing them to retreat into homes, police said. About 30 police officers were reported injured.
Police commander Bob Waites told ABC the riot began after a teenager was impaled on a fence in the area and died earlier on the weekend.
"The misinformation was that they were under the belief that the police were actually involved in a pursuit where an Aboriginal youth was killed and that wasn't true," he said.
"It all started over the coppers chasing a young boy," a local resident said. "It happened yesterday afternoon or last night and it's just that everybody has 'gone off' because they believe the coppers are involved in doing away with the young fellow."
