A man who was charged over an alarming incident at Sydney Airport — in which a gun was accidentally discharged — has been arrested again.
Nicholas Teplin, a 41-year-old Victorian man, allegedly went on a rampage on Thursday afternoon, assaulting several people in Sydney’s CBD.
NSW Police said he allegedly approached a 45-year-old man at Central Railway Station and punched him in the face, causing him to fall to the floor and suffer a bleeding nose.
Teplin is then accused of approaaching two men and allegedly striking both in the head as he made his way along the Suburban Concourse.
Police say he continued towards a fourth man, aged 20, and tried to grab his bag.
As the pair struggled over the bag, police from Sydney City Police Area Command attended and arrested the man.
While in police custody, Teplin allegedly assaulted a male constable by pushing him in the chest.
He faces assault-related charges and was refused bail.
Teplin was also at the centre of an incident at Sydney Airport on Wednesday morning. Police were called early on Wednesday after reports the man was acting suspiciously at a check-in counter.
A gun belonging to a federal police officer went off as the man was tackled to the ground near gate 53 in the T2 domestic terminal early on Wednesday.
“We allege the man became verbally and physically aggressive towards AFP officers before he was able to be placed under arrest. During his arrest, the AFP firearm was unintentionally discharged,” said AFP Acting Commander Scott Raven.
He said the gun went off close to the floor and near the wall of an airport cafe. The bullet lodged about a metre from where the group was holding Teplin.
Teplin was also on police radar for disruptive demeanour at the airport on Tuesday.
While not having specific medical evidence for Teplin’s condition, Sydney magistrate Daniel Covington on Friday ordered him to receive a mental health assessment.
He described the police fact sheet as “bizarre” — in particular, “bizarre comments” Teplin made to federal police officers at the airport.
Prosecutors argued there was insufficient evidence to support Teplin’s mental illness, pointing to him allegedly telling police after his arrest on Thursday: “I know I’m going to get bail, like always”.
The comment was inconclusive, Teplin’s lawyer David Newham said, adding that Teplin had been medicated for PTSD for the past five years.
“It’s in the community’s best interest that this man gets assessed,” he told the court.
Teplin will be detained until he is assessed by a psychiatrist and will return to court if the doctors do not find evidence of mental ill-health.
NSW Police later suggested Teplin had opportunities to seek help before the railway station incident on Thursday afternoon.
“It’s called personal responsibility, it’s a very simple concept,” Chief Inspector Gary Coffey told reporters.
“You’ve got a personal obligation to make sure that you get the treatment you need, so that you’re not a danger to people in the community, or a danger to yourself.”
He declined to comment on the federal police decision to grant Teplin bail on Wednesday but said police made decisions based on the risks that were known at that time.
Teplin was bailed after Wednesday’s fracas to appear in court in September.
Federal police on Wednesday declined to detail how the gunfire in the terminal occurred, citing an internal investigation.
The police-issued weapon fired when very low to the ground with the bullet lodged in the oven of a nearby cafe, according to police.
The arrest came after an airline alerted police to Teplin’s suspicious behaviour at the check-in counters in the T2 domestic terminal.
When officers tried to speak to him, he allegedly became aggressive.
The gunshot caused no injuries and the airport did not go into lockdown, police said.
Footage shared on social media by radio station 2GB on Wednesday showed a shouting man being held to the ground by several people.
Raven said additional federal police officers were called in, and two NSW police officers (one current, one retired) were also on the scene.
He denied earlier reports Sydney Airport was locked down as a result of the incident.
The T2 terminal is mainly used by Virgin and Jetstar, as well as some Rex flights.
The man was taken to Mascot police station and charged with obstructing an official and creating a disturbance at an airport.
“I will not go into further details of exactly why he was at the airport today or whether he did or did not have a boarding pass, as the investigation is ongoing,” Raven said.
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