A 24-year-old man has been charged with two counts of attempted murder and other offences following a stabbing incident at the Australian National University yesterday.
Alex Ophel faced court this morning.
Police allege that at about 2.40pm Monday 18 September, Mr Ophel hit a male student on the head with a frying pan. The student ran away from the scene.
Mr Ophel then allegedly stabbed a 20-year-old female student multiple times, then chased a second 20-year-old female student and stabbed her.
Mr Ophel then allegedly punched a second male student in the face.
The two female victims were transported to hospital, one initially in a critical condition. She is in a serious but stable condition, and the other in a stable condition. The two male victims did not require hospitalisation.
Police were directed to Mr Ophel’s location by witnesses, and took him into custody.
Mr Ophel has also been charged with two counts of assault and one count of possessing an object to be used to kill.
Police wouldn’t comment on the accused’s mental health status, but were still investigating the context of the incident and why he was on the ANU grounds.
Police opposed bail when Mr Ophel fronted the ACT Magistrates Court on Tuesday morning, but his lawyer was not confident he could accurately take instructions from his client due to his mental state.
He asked for more time to get instructions from Mr Ophel and “see if he can understand me”.
The incident is believed to have taken place between the Chifley Library and the Fellows Oval.
A motive has not yet been identified, and police do not believe Mr Ophel was known to the alleged victims.
Detective Acting Superintendent Stephanie Leonard said Mr Ophel had prior interactions with police.
“Obviously any violent offence is concerning,” she told reporters. “ANU and Canberra are usually very safe places, and incidents like this are extremely rare.”
Any person who has mobile phone footage of the stabbing incident is urged to immediately give that footage to City Police Station.
ANU Vice-Chancellor Brian Schmidt reassured the university community of its safety, and thanked the emergency response teams.
“Yesterday was a very tough day for ANU,” Professor Schmidt said. “Thank you all for supporting each other as our community always does.
“We have two students still in hospital, and we are actively offering support to their family and friends. I know we all wish them well.
“I know a number of members of our community stopped to render assistance to those injured or stepped in to shepherd people away from danger. We will find an appropriate way to acknowledge this in time, but for now I thank those people on behalf of ANU.”
Professor Schmidt praised the “swift and efficient response” from ACT Policing, ACT Ambulance Service and the ANU Security team. Without their “prompt action”, he said, “this might have been even worse.”
Support services have been made available. Students can seek support through the ANU Crisis Support Line at 1300 050 327 or via SMS Text message service at 0488 884 170. And staff should not hesitate to use the Employee Assistance Program by calling 1800 808 374 for support and counselling.
With AAP
With AAP
