Twelve charged as family conflict spirals out of control in Morawa last week

Police say a riot in Morawa last week was sparked by a family feud and lasted for more than 32 hours, requiring help from five surrounding stations to quell the unrest. Twelve people were arrested and charged with taking part in a riot, with police continuing their inquiries. Police claim Grove Street in Morawa was flooded with about 70 people, which caused two days of public unrest between the morning of Monday, May 9 and the night of Tuesday, May 10 as the family feud escalated. Morawa Police Station officer-in-charge Sgt Jamie Forbes said there were 50-70 people involved over the course of the two days, with locals and travelling family members joining the out-of-control gathering. “I don’t know exactly what they were arguing about, just that it got out of hand over nothing,” he said. “There were two separate groups that kept carrying on and just wanted to fight each other.” Sgt Forbes said it wasn’t unusual for family disagreements to occur in Morawa, but in his two years working in the town he had never seen a situation escalate to such an extreme degree. “It’s the first time we’ve had charges like this in Morawa, family disagreements occur occasionally but nothing this big,” he said. Sgt Forbes said the station required police assistance from Tenindewa, Three Springs, Mingenew, Geraldton and Mullewa to help control the crowd. “That sort of behaviour is unacceptable and won’t be tolerated,” he said. “The people we haven’t caught up with yet who have been involved will be followed up with.” Police said local members of the riot had been dealt with and officers were continuing to make inquiries to contact those who travelled to Morawa.