A man who wildly stabbed fellow passengers on board an Oslo tram three years ago is now reportedly seeking compensation from the state. He claims he never should have been released from psychiatric care just days before he went amok.
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The man, an immigrant from Somalia in his 40s, killed one of the passengers and wounded four others in the bloody attack on board the #17 tram as it rolled by Bislett Stadium on an August afternoon in 2004.
He had been sitting quietly on the tram when he suddenly pulled out a large knife, which he'd just bought in downtown Oslo, and started slashing at everyone around him. The shocked driver of the tram brought it to a halt and frantically called for assistance. By the time it arrived, the man had fled, hijacking the car of a passing motorist. One of his victims, a 23-year-old man who didn't hear the uproar around him because he was deaf, was stabbed to death.
The assailant was eventually captured later that day and has been committed to psychiatric care ever since. Newspaper VG reported Friday that he now claims the state is liable for turning him into a killer because he didn't receive the care he needed at the time. His attorney wouldn't elaborate on the case, nor would the organization that promotes patients' rights in Norway.
State health authorities earlier criticized a doctor at Ullevål University Hospital for releasing the man from acute care without having a plan to follow up his treatment. An intern on duty had actually handled the release, but the doctor was viewed as being responsible. |