http://www.thelocal.se/20151028/security-stepped-up-as-ikea-stabbing-trial-begins
Police outside a Västerås court on Wednesday. Photo: Pontus Lundahl/TT
Security stepped up as Ikea stabbing trial begins
Published: 28 Oct 2015 11:01 GMT+01:00
Security was stepped up at a court in Västerås on Wednesday as the
trial of a 36-year-old asylum seeker accused of stabbing a woman and
her son to death at an Ikea store got under way.
Eritrean facing trial over Sweden's Ikea killings (16 Oct 15)
Police and security guards were present at Västmanland district court
to search everyone entering the court room where one of Sweden's most
high-profile trials this year is being held.
"Amid today's debate in society about hostility towards refugees it
feels pretty natural that you check those who enter," Per Kjellson,
head of the court, told TT.
The court heard on Wednesday morning that Eritrean man Abraham
Ukbagabir admits stabbing the pair in the furniture giant's kitchen
section on August 10th, but says he did not mean to kill them.
"He denies responsibility for the murder. He admits, however, to
aggravated assault and manslaughter," defence lawyer Per-Ingvar Ekblad
told the trial.
A mother, 55, and her adult son, 27, died in the stabbing at the Ikea
mall in Västerås.
The moment of the attack was not caught on camera, but CCTV footage
forming part of the police investigation shows Ukbagabir grabbing two
knives from a shelf and unpackaging them.
Prosecutor Eva Morén said in her opening statement on Wednesday that
the 36-year-old then forcefully stabbed the 55-year-old woman in the
abdomen, which "almost completely severed the aorta".
Abraham Ukbagabir with his lawyer and interpreter. Photo: Pontus Lundahl/TT
The Eritrean had been handed a deportation order on July 27th and had
again been told to leave Sweden by immigration officials shortly
before the attack.
He told the court he lost control when he understood he would be
forced to leave the Nordic country.
"I used to regard Sweden as my country. Then when I had this thought
and got rejected I had to try to defend myself," said Ukbagabir via an
interpreter.
His initial plan had been to attack people in central Västerås, but he
took the bus to Ikea with a friend – who was not involved in the
killing – when he failed to find any knives.
The court was set to continue hearing witnesses throughout the day.
The trial continues.
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TT/The Local (news_at_thelocal.se)
Received on Wed Oct 28 2015 - 08:54:11 EDT