Man, 19, arrested and charged after allegedly accessing tops of Adelaide CBD buildings, surfing trains
A young southern suburbs man will face court after allegedly filming himself train surfing through a tunnel and atop Adelaide’s highest skyscraper.
Police & Courts
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A southern suburbs teenager has been arrested and charged after allegedly riding on top of trains and filming himself on the roofs of some of Adelaide’s tallest buildings, with police warning more arrests are possible.
It comes after an Advertiser investigation at the weekend revealed the extraordinary lengths youths went to for social media photos, including hanging off the city’s tallest towers.
The young man, 19, was arrested about 12pm on Monday at his Port Noarlunga address and charged with being unlawfully on premises and offences under the passenger transport regulations.
It’s alleged he was involved in a number of incidents where a group of young people filmed themselves trespassing on buildings in the CBD and “riding dangerously” on trains before posting it online.
An SA police spokesman said the man was also issued with a three-month ban from using any form of public transport or “entering on to any public transport infrastructure”.
“The investigation is ongoing to identify further people involved,” they said.
“Police would like to remind the public of the obvious dangers of travelling on the outside of trains and accessing restricted areas on buildings.
“This type of behaviour is reckless and irresponsible and could end in death or serious injury, or the death of or injury of innocent parties. Anyone caught partaking in this kind of behaviour can expect police action.”
Shocking images from Instagram and TikTok shows a group of teens atop Adelaide’s city buildings, including Crowne Plaza Adelaide and at least 10 more prominent high-rises.
One video also shows a young man and a filmer “surfing” the roof of a train on the Belair Line, narrowly ducking as the train enters a tunnel.
On social media, the group used handles and hashtags referring to “urbex”, short for urban exploration. The Urban Dictionary describes urbexing as “the act of going to and exploring places that are not normally visited or often even accessible to the general public”.
The man was granted police bail to appear at Adelaide Magistrates Court next month.
On Tuesday, SA Police assistant commissioner Narelle Kameniar said the alleged offending was “ridiculous and very dangerous behaviour”.
“... Not only for the individuals concerned – who are clearly not even concerned about their own safety and wellbeing – but it’s clearly a public safety risk to others,” Ms Kameniar said.
“They will (all) be caught – I’ll make that abundantly clear. Police will catch these people and bring them to account.”
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