A 16-year-old boy filmed allegedly attacking a teenager with an axe at an Alice Springs sports ground on Monday evening was released after his arrest the next morning to return to the same school as his alleged victim.
Sources told Daily Mail Australia that both the alleged victim and the teen accused of taking part in the vicious attack with a 40cm axe attended Centralian Senior College for its back-to-school day on Tuesday.
Northern Territory Police confirmed that the teenager arrested had been released the morning after the alleged attack, but could not reveal if he would be issued with a court summons or placed on a youth diversion program.
Centralian Senior College - which has an anti-bullying and harassment policy - refused to comment, referring Daily Mail Australia to the Northern Territory's Department of Education.
The mother of the boy injured in the incident described the situation as 'a joke'.
The 16-year-old boy filmed attacking a teenager at an Alice Springs sports oval on Monday evening with an axe was released after his arrest the next morning to attend the same school as the victim
Three youths retreat from the scene after a male intervened, yelling 'What the f*** do you think you're doing? F*** off. Do you think you're tough ganging up on him?'
The victim of the alleged incident was attended to by police, but paramedics said he 'refused to have any observations taken, showed no obvious injuries and declined transportation to the hospital.'
The boy's mother, local hospital staffer Namfon Fon, said her son had been hit 'multiple times in his face, stomach, leg and other parts of his body' and had been taken to the hospital's emergency department.
Monday afternoon's horrific broad daylight axe attack seemed to represent a new wave of violence in the lawless Outback town.
Ms Fon, who moved to live in the town from her native Thailand only a few years ago to be with her partner, posted a warning on Facebook following the assault of her son near Sammy's Pizza.
The boy's mother Namfon (above) described the fact her son and the alleged attacker returned to the same school the morning after the incident as 'a joke'
Sources said the teenage boy and his alleged attacker both attended Centralian Senior College, which declined to comment, and attended the year's first back-to-school day the morning after the attack
The incident followed a string of violent attacks by gangs of youths trashing businesses and robbing homes.
Ms Fon's 16-year-old son was walking in the Alice suburb of Braitling when the three males attacked him.
Disturbing video of the assault obtained by Daily Mail Australia shows the three young men laying into the teenager as he cowered on the grass.
Video of the attack, which is believed to have taken place in Rhonda Diano Oval, shows two males in black T-shirts and the axe-wielder in a red t-shirt grunting as they beat the schoolboy.
Namfon Fon's son, 16, was set upon by three youths armed with an axe who struck him on his 'face, stomach, leg and other parts of his body'
Then a man out of view yells at them to stop, saying 'eh, eh, eh! What the f*** do you think you're doing?
'F*** off. Do you think you're tough ganging up on him? Watch out for yourself. All of you. I know your names.
'Get out. There was three of you on him. Do you want me to ring the cops?'
Ms Fon said 'luckily' her son did not appear to have been cut by the axe's blade, and thanked locals who stopped to help her son .
Ms Fon said it was 'very sad to end up in ED after you get attacked by your own community'.
'This town has become a nightmare for everybody,' she said. 'Stay safe.'
Ms Fon works at Alice Springs Hospital since moving from Thailand to the town (above, violence filmed there last weekend) where where her teenage son was taken to emergency after he was attacked on an afternoon stroll
Northern Territory Police said the alleged teen offender 'is expected to be dealt with under the provisions of the Youth Justice Act,'
Despite violence and crime being part of Alice Springs life, the situation has worsened in the ten months since the Northern Territory Government lifted alcohol restrictions.
The campaign by Action for Alice campaigner Darren Clarke gained national headlines, forcing Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to make a flying visit and impose partial alcohol bans.
During a brief visit to the town last week, Mr Albanese announced new alcohol restrictions and promised $48.8 million over two years for programs to address the crime problem.
Measures implemented included a ban on takeaway alcohol sales on Monday and Tuesday as well as limits on bottle shop opening hours.
English (United States) ·