‘An everyday event’: Violent outburst at Darwin Woolies unveils sad truth about town’s shops

Footage capturing a violent outburst outside Darwin City Woolworths has highlighted a key cause driving customers away from the town’s shopping centres.

Darwin locals have revealed the sad reason they’re avoiding certain shops in their city, with some small businesses being forced to shut as a result.

A video of a Territorian man having a violent outburst outside Darwin City Woolworths on Monday, captured the unfortunate reality supermarket workers and shoppers deal with regularly.

The man is seen smashing several large pot plants – used to adorn the shopping centre – onto the floor, as customers do their shopping.

A security guard then approaches the man and escorts him out of the small complex, stopping him from damaging another set of plants decorating the entrance.

While it’s unclear what triggered the outburst, locals commenting on the footage posted to Reddit said such behaviour in these usually family-friendly areas is an “everyday event”.

Territorians say violent outbursts in shopping centres has become an "everyday event". Picture: Reddit / AccidentalFoe

Consequently, some locals are resorting to shopping from home or avoiding the area altogether when it comes to buying their groceries.

“Casuarina, Hibiscus and (Darwin) City Woolworths is why my family uses online shopping but it’s sad to see all the shops dying,” one concerned user commented.

Meanwhile another user claiming to be one of the security guards who attended the scene said the man’s violent behaviour was “nothing compared to what we deal with at the buses”.

“This is an everyday event. We see this day to day and no one comes till (sic) it’s too late,” they said.

A third commentator said they feared behaviour like this was giving the indigenous community a bad name.

“People creating a narrative that all indigenous people are like this is untrue because a lot of us are not like this and it’s quite unfair the narrative would get pushed from this,” they commented.

A fourth said: “(it) p****s me off to see s**t like this happen. It’s no wonder why small businesses fail in Darwin.”

Northern Territory Police said it urges anyone who witnesses crime or anti-social behaviour to call the Police without sirens number on 131 444, triple-0 or to contact Crime Stoppers.

“NT Police condemn any form of anti-social behaviour, particularly alcohol related violence, within our community,” a spokesperson said.

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One of the security guards who attended the scene said help from authorities comes too late. Picture: Reddit / AccidentalFoe

Such behaviour up north follows a spate of alcohol-fuelled criminals running rampant in Alice Springs, with residents reporting a surge in break-ins, alcohol-related assaults and vandalism.

As a result, the Territory government has introduced harsh new bans on alcohol purchases while the Albanese government announced it will allocate over $14 million into police resources and operations following the Prime Minister’s visit to the town last week.

The violence has led to a slew of retailers shutting their doors before sunset, including Woolworths who confirmed to news.com.au last week its Alice Springs store would close at 7pm to protect customer safety.

Darwin City Woolworths continues to remain open until 10pm but it‘s unclear if that would change with news.com.au contacting the supermarket giant for comment on the latest incident.