A man has been charged with attempted murder after a stabbing attack at the Australian National University (ANU) in Canberra on Monday.

Former student Alex Ophel was taken into custody by ACT Police after the series of unprovoked attacks left two female students hospitalised.

Both students are in a stable condition, with one being treated as serious.

Ophel was charged with two counts of attempted murder, two counts of assault, and one count of possessing an object to be used to kill.

At about 2:40pm on Monday, police allege Ophel hit a male student in the head with a frying pan before fleeing the scene. He then set upon multiple students causing serious injuries.

“The 24-year-old then allegedly stabbed a 20-year-old female student multiple times before chasing a second 20-year-old female student and stabbing her,” police said.

While the motive hasn’t been identified, the police don’t believe the victims knew Ophel.

ANU has urged students and staff to stay away from Fellows Oval and certain areas of the campus, as they are “active scenes of investigation.”

The university also encourages any witnesses of the event to attend a local police station and help assist in the investigation.

ANU’s Vice-Chancellor Professor Brian Schmidt thanked authorities for their “swift and efficient response” during the attack.

Photo: ANU Health and Well-being Centre October 2020 by Nick-D available HERE and used under a Creative Commons license. This image has not been modified.