Bradford mosque machete attacker given indefinite hospital order

A man who carried out a machete attack in front of worshippers at a Bradford mosque has been made the subject of an indefinite hospital order.

Paranoid schizophrenic Fezan Hussain had hidden the weapon in his clothing before pulling it out and stabbing a man at the Madni Masjid Islamic Centre.

The attack in May 2022 happened as worshippers left after Eid prayers.

Hussain, 28, was charged with attempted murder but due to his mental health deemed unfit to plead to stand trial.

Bradford Crown Court was told Hussain stabbed the man, who was in his 20s, in his abdomen, leaving him with a damaged liver and needing a blood transfusion.

'Restrained by onlookers'

The court heard that just seconds before the attack, Hussain had hugged his victim, a former childhood acquaintance.

At an earlier hearing, the court was shown CCTV footage of Hussain pulling the concealed machete from his clothing before stabbing his victim without warning.

Hussain, who was still holding the weapon, was restrained by onlookers as his victim collapsed to the floor of the prayer room.

At the hearing the jury concluded in Hussain's absence that he had carried out the stabbing after buying the machete by mail order.

Imposing the hospital order, Judge Jonathan Rose said it was a particularly worrying feature of the case that a man with Hussain's illness had been able to buy the small machete by mail order.

He said the complainant had been "a wholly innocent victim" of Hussain's actions that morning.

The judge heard evidence from Hussain's treating clinician who confirmed he suffered from paranoid schizophrenia and required lifelong anti-psychotic treatment.

He said the hospital order was being made to ensure Hussain received proper treatment for his psychiatric condition and to protect the public.