Health workers in a remote Northern Territory community found a pick axe outside their quarters after a would-be intruder attempted to break in, an inquest into the death of Indigenous teenager shot by police has heard.
Kumanjayi Walker, 19, died after Constable Zachary Rolfe shot him three times during a bungled arrest in Yuendumu, northwest of Alice Springs on November 9, 2019.
The Alice Springs inquest has heard officers fought to save the Warlpiri man's life but he died on the floor at the local police station about an hour after the incident.
No medical staff were on call in the community to help Mr Walker because most had fled earlier in the day after a series of break-ins at their homes left some feeling "very unsafe".
Nurse Mathilda Starbuck, now 24, says she often heard people outside her home at night and the door handle rattle as would-be intruders tried to enter the property where she lived alone,
It was part of an escalating spate of break-ins and vandalism across the community that culminated in the early hours of November 9 with a senior nurse's home being targeted with such force the building shook.
The discovery of a pick axe, a shovel and other tools outside a reinforced window explained the disturbance.
It also left Ms Starbuck shaken and afraid for her safety.
"If they were using that to get into the property it means they could potentially be carrying that within the property," she told the coroner from the witness box.
"If you are at home you can't tell what could happen."
The inquest heard police attended the scene and told the nurses they believed the break-ins were being led by a young man who had previously lunged at police with an axe when they tried to arrest him.
The health workers felt targeted in the community of about 900 and powerless to stop the attacks.
A staff meeting was convened with NT Heath management to air their concerns and the decision was made to withdraw the nurses for the weekend.
Ms Starbuck, who was on her first posting after university graduation, detailed her memory of the meeting, saying "I probably wouldn't have said much".
Despite this, the Walker family's lawyer, Gerard Mullins, robustly questioned her about the decision, asking if she had suggested that NT Health's management meet with the community's elders to discuss the situation.
Mr Mullins also probed Ms Starbuck about her statement to police after Mr Walker was killed, in which she attempted to relay the purpose of the evacuation to investigators.
"Let's not sugar coat it, you thought what was happening here was that the nurses and management were sending a message to the community that unless they stopped doing this stuff they weren't going to have a health service," he said.
Ms Starbuck clarified her statement saying: "We wanted the community to understand that if the safety of the nurses were put at risk then the health service can't continue".
"If we were continually put at risk (and) having to be removed from community then that changes the service we can provide."
The decision to evacuate the health staff left some Yuendumu residents upset and angry at the nurses after Mr Walker died.
That hostility grew after a senior NT Health official told a community meeting on November 12 the nurses fled because they were afraid, without stating it was actually a management decision.
The hearing continues.
