Two female students have been taken to hospital after a man allegedly stabbed them and assaulted others in a recent incident at Australian National University in Canberra.
At about 2.45pm on Monday, police and paramedics were called to the campus following reports of a stabbing.
A 24-year-old man has been arrested by police in relation to the incident. He’s been charged with two counts of attempted murder, two counts of assault and one count of possessing an object to be used to kill.
Police allege the man initially engaged a male student by hitting him on the head with a frying pan. The male student then ran away from the scene, with the perpetrator then allegedly stabbing a 20-year-old female student multiple times before chasing a second 20-year-old female student and stabbing her as well.
Following this violence, the man proceeded to approach a second male student and punch him in the face.
The two female students had to be taken to hospital– one is in critical condition and the other remains stable. Meanwhile, the two male victims did not require hospitalisation.
Police say the perpetrator “is not believed to be a student of the university”, with no specific motive has been identified. Police also don’t believe the victims knew the offender.
Students and staff were urged to stay away from the location of the incident– Fellows Oval– as it is a crime scene, but police have said there’s no direct threat to the community.
An email was sent to all ANU students and staff following the stabbing, informing that an individual was in custody and “there is no threat to the community”.
ANU’s vice-chancellor, Professor Brian Schmidt, also emailed with an update, writing “Let me start by assuring everyone the situation is under control.”
“I understand this incident may have caused distress among members of our community and I want to remind you that support is available. In times like these, it is essential we support one another and stay connected as a community.”
Police are urging any person who has mobile phone footage of the incident to provide that footage to them. Anyone with further information is asked to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or via crimestoppers.com.au referencing P2193413.