Woman nearly drowned in unprovoked assault

A 30-year-old woman was attacked and nearly drowned outside the seaside town of Kungsbacka in southern Sweden yesterday. The woman had taken her two small children to a beach near Vallda outside Kungsbacka.

A man standing on a small offshore island suddenly waded across to the beach, where he abruptly assaulted her. Speaking to TT, detective chief inspector Sten Lindbergh of the Halland police said he struck her and then repeatedly held her head under the water. He broke off when a witness some distance away began shouting at him.

The woman, some of whose hair was torn out during the ordeal, was taken to hospital for observation.

“She didn’t know the man at all, and was of course severely shocked,” said Lindbergh. The attack took place at around four o’clock and the man was arrested a few hours later in the same area.

“We have no idea why he assaulted her. We have no indication that he had taken drugs,” added Lindbergh.

The man is being detained on suspicion of attempted manslaughter and of assaulting one of the children. None of the children was physically injured.