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Manchester Victoria station stabbings: Man admits attempted murder | Manchester Victoria station stabbings: Man admits attempted murder |
(about 5 hours later) | |
A man who launched a frenzied knife attack at a railway station has admitted trying to kill three people, including a police officer. | A man who launched a frenzied knife attack at a railway station has admitted trying to kill three people, including a police officer. |
Mahdi Mohamud, 26, stabbed and slashed at a couple and then attacked Sgt Lee Valentine at Manchester Victoria railway station on New Year's Eve. | Mahdi Mohamud, 26, stabbed and slashed at a couple and then attacked Sgt Lee Valentine at Manchester Victoria railway station on New Year's Eve. |
The couple's injuries included a punctured lung and a skull fracture. | The couple's injuries included a punctured lung and a skull fracture. |
Mohamud pleaded guilty at Manchester Crown Court to three counts of attempted murder and a terror offence. | Mohamud pleaded guilty at Manchester Crown Court to three counts of attempted murder and a terror offence. |
He admitted possession of a document or record likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism and will be sentenced on Wednesday. | |
The court heard Mohamud, of Cheetham Hill in Manchester, walked up behind a man and a woman in their 50s shouting "Allahu Akbar" and "Long live the caliphate" as they headed for a tram platform shortly before 21:00 GMT on 31 December. | The court heard Mohamud, of Cheetham Hill in Manchester, walked up behind a man and a woman in their 50s shouting "Allahu Akbar" and "Long live the caliphate" as they headed for a tram platform shortly before 21:00 GMT on 31 December. |
He stabbed the man repeatedly in the back, shoulders and head and then slashed the woman across the face after the couple randomly crossed his path. | He stabbed the man repeatedly in the back, shoulders and head and then slashed the woman across the face after the couple randomly crossed his path. |
The man suffered 13 injuries including a skull fracture while the woman's right lung was punctured and she suffered a slash to her forehead that cut down to the bone. | The man suffered 13 injuries including a skull fracture while the woman's right lung was punctured and she suffered a slash to her forehead that cut down to the bone. |
British Transport Police officers and tram staff confronted Mohamud, who witnesses said was "like an animal" and was "fixated" on stabbing and slashing. | British Transport Police officers and tram staff confronted Mohamud, who witnesses said was "like an animal" and was "fixated" on stabbing and slashing. |
Sgt Valentine, 31, shot Mohamud with his Taser but the barbs got stuck in the knifeman's coat and failed to paralyse him. | Sgt Valentine, 31, shot Mohamud with his Taser but the barbs got stuck in the knifeman's coat and failed to paralyse him. |
The sergeant was stabbed in the shoulder before the suspect was wrestled to the ground and arrested. | The sergeant was stabbed in the shoulder before the suspect was wrestled to the ground and arrested. |
Sgt Valentine said Mohamud was "dancing around, waving this knife around" before he started to run at the officers. | Sgt Valentine said Mohamud was "dancing around, waving this knife around" before he started to run at the officers. |
"He probably closed a seven foot gap in half a second," he added. | "He probably closed a seven foot gap in half a second," he added. |
"It was just like a dive, he flew, he probably jumped three or four foot off the ground and just sort of lunged, probably lunged at my head with his knife." | "It was just like a dive, he flew, he probably jumped three or four foot off the ground and just sort of lunged, probably lunged at my head with his knife." |
A second kitchen knife was found in Mohamud's waistband. | A second kitchen knife was found in Mohamud's waistband. |
Greater Manchester Police said officers recovered a large amount of "counter-terrorism mindset material", including images and a document about how to carry out knife attacks. | Greater Manchester Police said officers recovered a large amount of "counter-terrorism mindset material", including images and a document about how to carry out knife attacks. |
The defendant, a Dutch national from a Somali family, had arrived in the UK aged nine and became radicalised online, the force said. | The defendant, a Dutch national from a Somali family, had arrived in the UK aged nine and became radicalised online, the force said. |
Mohamud was sectioned under the Mental Health Act following the attack and taken to a secure mental health facility where he is currently detained. | Mohamud was sectioned under the Mental Health Act following the attack and taken to a secure mental health facility where he is currently detained. |
Prosecutor Alison Morgan QC said: "The prosecution's case is that the attack at Victoria Station was not simply a product of that mental illness. | Prosecutor Alison Morgan QC said: "The prosecution's case is that the attack at Victoria Station was not simply a product of that mental illness. |
"It was intended to be a lethal attack, carefully planned over a number of months, reflecting the defendant's extremist ideology and his desire to perform violent jihad. | "It was intended to be a lethal attack, carefully planned over a number of months, reflecting the defendant's extremist ideology and his desire to perform violent jihad. |
"The defendant's actions may have been disinhibited by his mental illness, but they were driven by an entrenched desire to undertake jihad against the West." | "The defendant's actions may have been disinhibited by his mental illness, but they were driven by an entrenched desire to undertake jihad against the West." |
The court heard how Mohamud has been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia and he will need treatment for the rest of his life. | |
Rebecca Trowler QC, defending, said Mohamud had first been admitted to a UK mental health hospital in December 2015. | |
He was also admitted to institutions in Somalia on three occasions in 2017 during which time he swung an axe at a nurse, stabbed a second nurse with a knife in a separate attack, and also stabbed his uncle, the court heard. | |
His symptoms include hallucinations and "complex persecutory delusional beliefs" which led him to be believe his actions were being controlled as he followed by MI5 and the government. | |
In a letter to the judge, Mohamud's father said he felt a "terrible sense of guilt" for not getting his son the right treatment earlier and thanked police and the emergency services. | |
Ms Trowler said the defendant's family had slipped anti-psychotic drugs into his food in the days before the attack and made him a doctor's appointment. |