Attempted murder charge following incident at Canberra hospital
A 26-year-old man will today face the ACT Magistrates Court charged with two counts of attempted murder following an incident at The Canberra Hospital yesterday (Wednesday, 18 July 2018).
About 4pm, the Chisholm man was under police guard at The Canberra Hospital following arrest for serious traffic offences when he assaulted ACT Policing members.
During the altercation the offender fired an officer’s weapon. The man was disarmed and restrained by police and no members of the public or hospital staff were physically injured.
The man has been charged with;
- Two counts of attempted murder
- Assault occasioning actual bodily harm
- Discharge firearm endangering life
- Attempt to escape from custody or arrest
- Attempted robbery
- Drive motor vehicle without consent
- Two counts of culpable drive causing grievous bodily harm
- Unlicensed driver
The incident at the hospital has been declared a critical incident and AFP Professional Standards will continue to oversee the investigation into the circumstances surrounding the incident. The preliminary assessment indicates there are no misconduct issues arising from the officers’ actions during this incident.
As the matter remains ongoing, it would be inappropriate to comment further at this time.
Anyone who witnessed the incident is asked to contact ACT Policing on 131444.