Three people have been injured in what appears to be a bomb attack at an Aboriginal community in Broome.

Police have confirmed a projectile was shot from a car towards a group of people at the One Mile community around 7:00 pm yesterday.

A 43-year-old woman who picked up the object suffered hand and leg injuries when it exploded.

She has been flown to Perth for emergency surgery.

Detective Senior Sergeant Brett Baddock says several others were injured.

"Amongst the group, two other members, including a 13-year-old girl, suffered various injuries including injuries to their hearing and eyesight," he said.

"And also a third victim suffered spinal injuries when she was attempting to flee from the explosion."

He says the motive for the attack is not clear.

"It's something we're investigating but at this stage there's no particular motive," he said.

"There's a number of areas we're looking at and one of them is quite simply that it's a prank that's gone seriously wrong."

The One Mile community sits on the outskirts of Broome and is made up of around 20 houses.

Senior Sergeant Baddock says Tuesday night's attack was a highly unusual one.

"I've never come across an incident of this type in my time in Broome, it is unusual," he said.

"Using explosives as a weapon in an intentional act is something I've not heard of and is very serious and causes me great concern."

Local detectives have interviewed a number of witnesses but are keen to speak with anyone else who was in the area at the time.

They are also asking anyone who notices people using fire crackers around the town to call Crime Stoppers.

"Given the injuries that were sustained to the main victim it's a real possibility someone could have been killed," Senior Sergeant Baddock said.

"I'm looking forward to catching up with the people responsible for this and bringing it to their attention, and also bringing them before the judicial system."