Shock over ANU baseball attack

POLICE are continuing to investigate why an Australian National University student struck a female lecturer and three classmates with a baseball bat in Canberra yesterday.

The three students have been praised for their bravery after rushing to help their lecturer.

Last night, two of the injured remained in Canberra Hospital. An ACT Health spokeswoman said the man and woman were stable. It is believed the minor injuries included broken bones.

The other two female patients have been discharged.

The spokeswoman did not confirm whether the lecturer was one of the women discharged.

At 9.15am yesterday, an 18-year-old student sprung from his seat in a first-year statistics lecture in the Copland Building and started assaulting the lecturer with a bat.

Three other students — one male and two female — ran towards danger to save her.

“It was out of the blue, nothing seemed irregular about the guy,” ANU student Max Claessens said.

“He had been in the class since the beginning of the term so he wasn’t an unfamiliar person at all.”

It is understood a number of the students who were injured were Asian but Mr Claessens, whose friend was in the class, said there was no indication the attack was targeted at a particular group.

Detective Superintendent Ben Cartwright would also not be drawn on speculation the attack was racially motivated.

“It is too early to determine the motivation behind this alleged assault and, at this stage, ACT policing have not ruled anything out,” Mr Cartwright told reporters in Canberra.

“All indications at this stage are that it is an isolated incident. Everything is part of our investigation going forward.”

Early reports suggested the attacks were random in nature but ANU student newspaper

Woroni reported that the man “appeared to attack students of Asian appearance”.

Second-year student Zhuangzhuang Niu found out about the attack through a group chat.

“I heard it was a Chinese girl who got hit in the head with a bat. It’s quite serious,” he said.

“I don’t think the attack was targeted. Most of the students in the class were Asian.”

Mr Zhuangzhuang said the campus was generally safe for students.

Mr Cartwright said the attacker was not known to police or intelligence agencies.

“He put up a fight, obviously, when he had the baseball bat but once it was taken off him the students were able to restrain him and campus security were able to restrain him until police arrived,” Mr Cartwright said.

“Incredible bravery on their behalf. I believe one of the students has actually taken the baseball bat from the student with it and run away with it, and then returned later and given it to police.”

ANU deputy vice-chancellor Marni Hughes-Warrington said it was “an isolated and random incident that’s happened in a very caring community”.

Students have been offered counselling.

Students received an

ema i l from the university alerting them of the incident and assuring them that the perpetrator was removed from campus and detained by police.

The university said it would step up security for its open day today.

Yesterday’s attack is not the first serious incident on an Australian university campus.

In 2002, a student entered a classroom at Monash University in Melbourne, killing two and injuring five.

Huan Yun Xiang had entered the economics class with six loaded handguns.

As he attempted to switch guns after running out of ammunition, the injured lecturer and a student tackled him to the ground.