A 31-year-old man suspected of killing a priest and wounding four other people in a knife attack at a Polish monastery has been placed in a psychiatric ward after being diagnosed with “severe psychotic symptoms”.
His condition “prevents him from taking part in procedural steps due to severe psychotic symptoms... disorganized thinking and an inability to communicate logically,” said Małgorzata Taciuch-Kurasiewicz, a spokeswoman for prosecutors.
A Ukrainian citizen, named by police only as ‘Ihor M’ due to Polish privacy laws, was detained after the attack on Thursday at the Benedictine abbey in the southeastern town of Jarosław.
To formally charge him, prosecutors will have to wait until doctors determine that his condition allows him to be questioned.
Priest killed
According to investigators, the 31-year-old entered the monastery complex and obtained a knife from a kitchen before attacking four men and a woman.
All five victims were taken to hospital. One of them, a priest, later died. Another priest suffered serious injuries and underwent surgery.
Police detained the suspect at the monastery shortly after the attack.
Witnesses later said the man behaved unusually after his detention, at times remaining calm and at other moments shouting seemingly incoherent remarks.
Motive unclear
Investigators have not yet established a motive for the attack.
The suspect had entered Poland from Germany the night before the stabbing and was traveling toward the Ukrainian border.
Prosecutors previously said he had attempted to reach the Korczowa border crossing before eventually arriving in Jarosław.