Man who went berserk with machete 'not insane'
A 33-year-old man who went on a wild machete-wielding rampage in Sundsvall in northern Sweden in March was not insane at the time, forensic psychiatrists have determined.
The man slashed a woman in the face, left a dog bloodied and hijacked a minivan full of students in the course of his violent outburst.
A week later the man flew into a new rage, going after staff of the psychiatric clinic in which he was being treated.
The outcome of the psychiatric assessment was made public on Friday and it has been determined that the man was not psychotic at the time of the attack.
The 33-year-old was charged at the end of May and if found guilty he can now only be sentenced to imprisonment.
The woman lost an eye in the attack on March 15th, which consisted of several blows from the machete-like knife.
Leaving the woman bleeding profusely, the 33-year-old fled the scene.
Around 90 minutes later, police received a call about a car accident on the E4 motorway near Harmånger, about 60 kilometres south of Sundsvall.
As it turned out, the 33-year-old has crashed his getaway car in the ditch.
But when two minivans filled with a group of high school students stopped to help, the man again went on the offensive, putting the knife against the throat of one of the teachers and forcing students out of one of the minivans.
He then sped off in the minivan, leaving the stunned students on the side of the motorway.
Police eventually caught up to the 33-year-old after he once again drove into the ditch while exiting the motorway near Silja.
However, police were forced to fire a warning shot and shower the man with pepper spray before he gave up.
The 33-year-old was placed under arrest and taken to the police station under suspicion of attempted murder, making illegal threats, robbery, and resisting arrest.
The man is reported to have history of psychological illness and has been in out of clinics over the past decade.
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The man slashed a woman in the face, left a dog bloodied and hijacked a minivan full of students in the course of his violent outburst.
A week later the man flew into a new rage, going after staff of the psychiatric clinic in which he was being treated.
The outcome of the psychiatric assessment was made public on Friday and it has been determined that the man was not psychotic at the time of the attack.
The 33-year-old was charged at the end of May and if found guilty he can now only be sentenced to imprisonment.
The woman lost an eye in the attack on March 15th, which consisted of several blows from the machete-like knife.
Leaving the woman bleeding profusely, the 33-year-old fled the scene.
Around 90 minutes later, police received a call about a car accident on the E4 motorway near Harmånger, about 60 kilometres south of Sundsvall.
As it turned out, the 33-year-old has crashed his getaway car in the ditch.
But when two minivans filled with a group of high school students stopped to help, the man again went on the offensive, putting the knife against the throat of one of the teachers and forcing students out of one of the minivans.
He then sped off in the minivan, leaving the stunned students on the side of the motorway.
Police eventually caught up to the 33-year-old after he once again drove into the ditch while exiting the motorway near Silja.
However, police were forced to fire a warning shot and shower the man with pepper spray before he gave up.
The 33-year-old was placed under arrest and taken to the police station under suspicion of attempted murder, making illegal threats, robbery, and resisting arrest.
The man is reported to have history of psychological illness and has been in out of clinics over the past decade.
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