Police give no indication of motive after arresting man following attack on students that left four needing hospital treatment

This article is more than 3 years old

This article is more than 3 years old

Four people have been injured after a male student attempted to attack a female lecturer with a baseball bat at the Australian National University, police said.

Police were called to the ANU campus in Canberra on Friday morning after reports a man had attacked people in a classroom in the Copland precinct about 9.15am.

The student, described as an 18-year-old Caucasian man, allegedly stood up from his seat during a class and approached the lecturer with a bat.

Other students intervened, attempting to restrain him, police said. The lecturer and three students were injured in the scuffle. Campus security then arrived and overpowered him until police arrived.

Detective Superintendent Ben Cartwright would not be drawn on speculation that the young white man’s violent outburst was racially motivated. But he praised the students’ bravery.

“Incredible bravery on their behalf – I believe one of the students, they’ve actually taken the baseball bat from the student … and run away with it, and returned later and given it to police,” he said.

Jolene Laverty (@Jolene_Laverty) There has been a random attack on students at the ANU campus, several people injured, a man has been taken in custody #canberra pic.twitter.com/U2xGPQqOlZ

The student was not known to police or intelligence agencies but police said it was still too early to determine his motivation. There were no religious slogans or outbursts in foreign languages during the attack, officers said.

Australian Capital Territory police said they had not ruled anything out in attempting to establish the attacker’s motive.

Three women and one man were injured during the attack, police said. Their injuries were not life-threatening but they were taken to hospital.



“They appear to be defensive injuries – we’re believed to have a couple of broken bones, a broken arm, but I’m not sure who has got what injuries,” Cartwright said.

“But I can tell you from information that has come from the Canberra hospital that they’re not life-threatening, however they are serious.”



The man was in custody at a police station in Civic, Canberra’s central district, but had not been charged by 1pm. Officers said there was “no ongoing threat to public safety”.

The university’s deputy-vice chancellor, Marnie Hughes-Warrington, described the attack as “isolated and random”.

“The second thing I want to do is to acknowledge the remarkable bravery of our students and our staff during this incident,” Hughes-Warrington said. “This was a very, very unusual incident in Canberra. We know one another, we care for one another, and our highest priority is to look after one another.”

Another witness told the ABC she had been inside the classroom at the time and that a man had stood up suddenly and attacked people with the bat.



“A man who is a very brave, he helped us to stop what he do, but they are in the door so we can’t get out of there at the time,” she said.



ABC News Canberra (@abcnewsCanberra) #ANU student in the classroom at time of a baseball bat attack said a man suddenly started hitting her classmates https://t.co/dv79NALdlr pic.twitter.com/qskEWFFezH

The witness said she had called police and was eventually able to escape the classroom.

“While I run, I was running and shouting, ‘Help, we need help,’ and then we run and many people come, and the police come,” she said.

ANU issued a short statement on Friday morning: “The university’s first priority is the welfare of our staff and students. Counselling services are being provided to all those affected.

“ACT police were called and attended the scene where one person was detained. There is no ongoing threat to public safety.”

ANU students were sent a message in the hours after the attack.

“You may be aware that earlier today an incident occurred in the Copland precinct of the ANU campus,” the message read. “There is no threat to the safety and security of staff and students on campus.

“If you or someone you know is in distress or needs assistance, there is help available.”

Andrew Leigh, the local MP and a former economics professor at ANU, tweeted his best wishes.