A student who allegedly attacked an Australian National University lecturer with a baseball bat on Friday has been referred for mental health assessment.
Alex Ophel, 18, fronted the ACT magistrates court on Saturday morning after being charged with several counts of assault, including intentionally inflicting grievous bodily harm.
Police allege he sprung from his seat during a statistics class in Canberra on Friday morning and approached the female lecturer with the bat.
A group of students tried to intervene and restrain him, and were injured in the process.
Four were taken to hospital with serious but non-life threatening injuries, including broken bones.
The defendant, represented by his lawyer Tim Sharman, was not required to enter a plea on Saturday.
He said nothing during his brief appearance, and fronted the court wearing blue police forensic overalls. He was handcuffed and without shoes.
The defendant was referred for a mental health assessment on Saturday, under section 309 of the ACT’s crimes act.
The law allows for defendants to be taken to a health facility for clinical examination, to determine whether they need immediate mental health treatment.
It is not known when he will return to court.
The alleged incident was expected to prompt additional security at the ANU’s open day on Saturday.
On Friday, 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.”
