Mangs said he 'shot the monkey': witness

Peter Mangs, on trial suspected of killing three people and attempting to kill another 12, on Tuesday explained his personality to the court and the details of his shootings.

“I’m not your typical person,” Mangs told the courtroom, according to the TT news agency.

The suspected serial killer recounted to the court his relations with Sweden’s social and education system, the labour market and the psychiatric care scheme.

Although Mangs has known since 2006 that he no longer suffers from the condition Asperger's Syndrome, but has continued to attend support groups ever since to discuss the affliction.

According to an acquaintance of Mangs from an Asperger's meet in Lund in 2005, Mangs asked the man if he would like to “come along and shoot people”.

The witness also claimed that Mangs had confessed to shooting a young man on Gånglåtsvägen in Malmö.

“And then he explained that he had also shot an older man there. He said ‘it was me who shot the ape’,” the acquaintance told the court.

When pressed by the court, the man admitted that he thought Mangs had been speaking the truth due to his “dramatic” tone at the time.

Asked why Mangs chose the word “ape”, the man replied:

“It’s because he doesn’t like some immigrants so much. Though he did like some other immigrants.”

Mangs has confessed to two of the 20 charges against him, both regarding vandalism. He confessed to shooting bullets into street signs in Malmö, claiming it was a training exercise.

“I wanted to practice aiming the laser under pressure, because it’s forbidden to shoot inside the town,” he told the court.

However, he refuses to pay the 2,150 kronor ($307) repair fee demanded by the town authorities, stating that the signs are still functional and remain on display in the city.

“They can become tourist attractions,” he told the court.

TT/The Local/og
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