Reality Diagnosis: Attempted Murder with a Knife in broad daylight (OVERVIEW)

A young woman with mental health issues stabbed three men this morning in Sofia, February 4. One of the victims, a 21-year-old man, is in critical condition and is currently in intensive care after undergoing surgery at the Military Medical Academy. The woman has been detained, and pre-trial proceedings have been initiated for attempted murder.

The first person attacked by the mentally ill woman was a 21-year-old, who was on his way to work at a nearby bank branch. He sustained a wound in the area of the spleen and has undergone surgery. He is in intensive care in a serious but stable condition. He has lost a lot of blood.

Ivo Iliev, Deputy City Prosecutor of Sofia, stated: "Since the injury is one that could lead to serious consequences, including death, pre-trial proceedings have been initiated for attempted murder. There is information that the woman attacked other people as well, who managed to escape without injury. Many witnesses have been interviewed, and there are CCTV recordings."

Ten minutes later, the woman managed to stab two more men, aged 48 and 51. One of them is an Italian national.

Hristina Kostadinova, a lab assistant, described the incident: "She pulled out a knife and stabbed him in the back. Then a woman started hitting her on the head with her handbag. Then the police were apparently chasing her and ordered her to drop the knife. I stepped back because they had guns."

The police disarmed the attacker with a taser and the injured received first aid at the nearby Medical Centre.

Dr. Milen Dimov, orthopedic-traumatologist and head of 14th Diagnostic and Consultation Center, stated: "We heard a commotion around the clinic. One of our staff called to inform me that a man had been injured. We performed surgical treatment of the wound here and monitored his vital signs. Another man had a cut on his hand, which was also surgically treated."

The man with the hand injury was not hospitalised, while the man with the back wound was transferred to 'Pirogov' emergency hospital for further examination.

Lyubomir Nikolov, Director of the Sofia Directorate of Interior (SDVR), explained: "When the police officers attempted to detain her, she also became aggressive toward them. Fortunately, they managed to prevent her from stabbing again, as she had targeted a woman walking in the area."

The attacker has been detained for 72 hours at the 4th District Police Station and will undergo psychological evaluation. If the assessment reveals that she was not aware of her actions, the case against her will be dropped.

In that case, a request will be submitted for compulsory treatment.