An 18-year-old man has been charged with murder after an incident involving two patients at Canberra Hospital.
Police responded to an alleged assault at the hospital’s Adult Mental Health Unit about 12:10 am on Sunday.
They said an altercation resulted in the death of a 38-year-old male patient.
Detective Superintendent Hall O'Meagher said hospital staff were still trying to revive the 38-year-old when police arrived, but he died at the scene.
"We're trying to piece together what occurred during the incident and what led to the death of the 38-year-old man," he said.
"A post-mortem will be conducted in the coming days.
"We don't believe that there was a weapon involved but the post-mortem hopefully will be able to confirm what injuries caused the man's death."
Superintendent O'Meagher said the two men had only known each other for a few days within the Adult Mental Health Unit.
He said no other people were injured during the incident and hospital security staff had secured the 18-year-old man before police arrived.
"While this is a criminal investigation and the person will be put before the ACT Magistrates Court, the matter will be concurrently reported to the ACT coroner," he said.
"Our condolences go out to the family of the victim and our thoughts are with you today and the days coming."
The 18-year-old man, from the Canberra suburb of Bonner, will face the ACT Magistrates Court on Monday charged with murder.
'Very distressing' for family, staff and patients
Canberra Health Services said the unit was fully staffed and under capacity at the time of the incident.
It is understood there were no children or adolescent patients present.
In a statement, ACT Mental Health Minister Emma Davidson described the situation as "very distressing" for the families involved and for staff and patients at the Adult Mental Health Unit.
"My thoughts are with the family of the deceased," she said.
"These sorts of incidents are also felt deeply by the health services staff who are extremely dedicated to caring for their patients, and I know many will be struggling with this news today."
Ms Davidson said Canberra Health Services was "doing everything" to ensure patients and staff within the unit were supported.
"As this is a matter for the police, I will make no further comment at this time," she concluded.
