A 19-year-old man who died after being shot by police in the Indigenous community of Yuendumu on Saturday night was "armed with a weapon" and "lunged" at an officer, NT Police say.

Key points: Deputy Commissioner White says the victim "targeted" the police officer who fired the gun

Deputy Commissioner White says the victim "targeted" the police officer who fired the gun He says police went to the teenager's home to arrest him for "outstanding offences"

He says police went to the teenager's home to arrest him for "outstanding offences" An investigation has been opened and the death has been declared a death in custody

But police have not said what the alleged weapon was or why non-lethal weapons such as tasers were not used before shooting the teenager in the town 266 kilometres north-west of Alice Springs.

The victim has been identified by his family as Kumanjayi Walker, who was a Warlpiri man from Yuendumu.

The death has been declared a death in custody.

NT Police said the body was flown to Alice Springs this morning.

What do police say about the incident?

Speaking to media for the first time, NT Police Acting Deputy Commissioner Michael White said two police officers went to Mr Walker's residence on Saturday night to arrest him for breach of the conditions of his suspended sentence.

"At approximately 7:00pm last night a member of the Northern Territory Police was involved in an incident where a 19-year-old man in Yuendumu was shot," Deputy Commissioner White said.

Police have released few details of the incident leading to the death of a 19-year-old man in Yuendumu in Central Australia. ( ABC News: Hamish Harty )

"During that altercation an officer was injured during that assault and sadly the person who was shot passed away some time later.

"The situation I have been briefed on is that two members attended the residence in an attempt to apprehend him for outstanding offences.

"During that time a struggle ensued, and two shots were fired and he sadly passed away later on."

Deputy Commissioner White said Mr Walker "targeted" the police officer who fired the gun.

"As they attempted to apprehend him he had lunged at the members," Deputy Commissioner White said.

"My understanding is he was armed with a weapon, but at this stage it's part of the investigation and it's early on."

Deputy Commissioner White said he could not say what Mr Walker was armed with when he lunged at officers.

He said a warrant had been issued for the arrest of Mr Walker who, he said, was wanted over "a number of matters".

He did not say specifically what Mr Walker was wanted for.

He said Mr Walker had died by the time an ambulance travelled to Yuendumu from a nearby community.

Why didn't police use a non-lethal weapon?

Deputy Commissioner White did not say if officers were carrying tasers or other non-lethal weapons at the time of the incident.

He said he expected the officers involved would have been wearing cameras.

"That's a matter for the investigation but I would hope and be sure that the members involved had their body-worn cameras operating," he said.

Why was medical help delayed?

The health clinic in Yuendumu was unstaffed this weekend.

Deputy Commissioner White said health staff had "made a decision to leave the community" after a number of break-ins to the clinic.

"From our perspective [that] obviously impacted on the response to providing aid to the deceased," he said.

"We provided first aid within our training and that's unfortunately all that he could receive."

An elder in Yuendumu, Harry Nelson, also said friends and family of the deceased were barred from checking on Mr Walker's condition on Saturday night.

Mr Nelson said requests were made for two community elders to be allowed in to check on his condition, but police declined these requests.

Another community elder, Ned Hargraves, said the police had locked themselves inside the station and had turned the lights off.

Who will investigate what happened?

Deputy Commissioner White said an internal investigation had been opened and the death had been declared a death in custody.

All deaths in custody in Australia trigger a coronial inquest.

The investigation will be overseen by a senior investigator from the Major Crime Unit in conjunction with Professional Standards Command.

"The coroner has been briefed and the deputy coroner and they will maintain oversight and we act on behalf of the coroner as part of that investigation," Deputy Commissioner White said.

"And everyone involved in the investigation is independent to anyone that is involved in the incident."

As part of the investigation, all people involved in the incident will be interviewed and the interviews will be provided to the coroner.

Deputy Commissioner White said "no decision [had] been made" about whether the officers involved would be stood down or suspended while the investigation took place.

More than 420 Aboriginal deaths in custody have been recorded since the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody in 1991.

Why are more police being sent to Yuendumu?

Deputy Commissioner White said police were "mindful" of possible unrest in the Yuendumu with a heightened police presence expected in the community in the coming weeks.

"As you can understand it's a remote community that has, sadly, a large population who have suffered a loss, and of course emotions are running very high at the moment," he said.

Deputy Commissioner White said there were at one stage up to 200 people standing outside the police station on Saturday night.

"So obviously there was concern for the people who were inside the police station about their safety," he said.

He said as part of the police response, Alice Springs front-line police and investigators, police officers from Darwin, and the Professional Standards Command would travel to Yuendumu.

"In the longer term we want to make sure the community is safe and our members are safe, so [police numbers] will be a determination from an operational perspective," he said.

"Our key focus is making sure that the community is informed as much as possible and to reduce any violence that might occur."