22-year-old woman stabbed three men near the entrance to Sofia's South Park in broad daylight

A mentally ill woman, 22, stabbed three men this morning in the area of G. Lyubomir Nikolov, the director of the Interior Ministry, said.

A 22-year-old woman, mentally ill, stabbed three men this morning in the Ivan Vazov neighbourhood of Sofia, the director of the Sofia Directorate of the Ministry of Interior, Lyubomir Nikolov, said on February 4.

The first victim was stabbed near a bank close to the entrance of South Park.

The second and third victims were stabbed at another location on Vitosha Boulevard, around number 100, where the attacker was eventually apprehended by the police.

According to the police, the victims were randomly chosen. Investigative activities are ongoing at the scene. The woman suffers from a serious mental illness.

"A signal was received by emergency services at 8:25 AM regarding the first man, a 21-year-old with a knife wound to his back. An emergency team immediately took him to the Military Medical Academy (VMA). A few minutes later, at 8:34 AM, a second signal was received for a 51-year-old man, who had been stabbed in the chest near the district healthcare center. A second emergency team responded immediately, and the man was hospitalized at 'Pirogov' hospital," said Katya Sungarska, spokesperson for Sofia's Emergency Medical Service.

The man admitted to "Pirogov" has a cut wound to his back. He is conscious and stable, with no immediate danger to his life. His wound will be treated and sutured, after which he will be discharged, the hospital reported.

At the military medical academy, the 21-year-old man was admitted with a stab wound to the spleen, requiring surgical intervention. He is currently in intensive care, in stable but serious condition.

The third victim was not hospitalised, as his injuries were minor.

"At 8:11 AM, a report was received by the 4th district police station about a person behaving aggressively near the scene, and a patrol was immediately dispatched. Just 12 minutes later, we received a report about an injured person at the location, so the police response was swift and appropriate. The injured include a bank employee who did not expect the aggression, and the other two victims were injured here behind me, where the investigation is taking place," explained Lyubomir Nikolov, Director of the Sofia Directorate of the Ministry of Interior.

Two citizens were calmly walking, one behind the other, a man and a woman behind him. Suddenly, she took out a knife and stabbed him in the back. Then, another woman walking by started hitting her on the head with her handbag and began shouting. That’s when the police probably started chasing her because this wasn’t the first incident. Earlier, people were shouting at her to drop the knife. I stepped back because the police had guns, and their reaction was adequate," said eyewitness Kristina Kostadinova.

Photos by BGNES

The 22-year-old woman has been under psychiatric care for a severe condition and was discharged from a psychiatric hospital a few months ago. Her mother is taking care of her and informed the police that the woman refuses to take her prescribed medication and that her condition had rapidly deteriorated in the past few days.

According to sources, all psychiatric clinics are currently refusing to admit the 22-year-old, claiming they have no available beds.

An investigation is underway for attempted murder.