Samurai sword attacker freed

A man detained indefinitely after attacking 11 churchgoers with a samurai sword has been released after less than two years, it has emerged.

Glasgow-born Eden Strang, 27, attacked worshippers in Thornton Heath, south London, in November 1999, because he believed they were demons.

In June 2000 an Old Bailey jury found Strang not guilty through insanity of attempted murder, but ordered him to be detained indefinitely at a psychiatric hospital under the Mental Health Act.

But he was released from hospital in March of this year, and has since been living in a hostel in the local area.

Police liaison officers are now giving support to Strang's victims, many of whom were seriously injured in the attack with the 3ft sword.

Strang told psychiatrists God ordered him to slaughter the congregation to save his wife Michelle, 26, and five-year-old daughter Olivia from eternal damnation. He stripped naked to be "clean and pure", the court heard.

A psychiatrist at his trial said of him he was a full-blown paranoid schizophrenic: "You can't get much madder than this."

The trial judge said the public had to be protected from "serious harm" from Strang.

Inspector Glen Smyth, chairman of the Metropolitan branch of the Police Federation, told The Sun newspaper: "It is as if the lunatics have taken over the asylum.

"It is utterly incredible that someone who was so disturbed can be allowed back into society so quickly."

The Sun newspaper claims that police only knew Strang was free after he was spotted on the streets by chance.

A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police refused to comment on that, but said: "It was understood he had responded positively to treatment and is still under NHS care.

"A multi-agency public protection panel has considered this case and is taking measures to ensure both the public and Mr Strang is safe.

"Another meeting to be chaired by Commander Andy Baker is to take place on 1 July. Consultations will take place with partner agencies.

"Police family liaison officers are contacting victims of the attack to maintain their reassurance and give them support."

A spokeswoman for the Department of Health said, "We cannot comment on individual cases because of confidentiality reasons."

Asked if the revelation would prompt an inquiry, she replied: "We are not reviewing anything at this stage."

Monday 29 November 1999
Swordsman goes berserk in church
By Nicole Martin, Linus Gregoriadis and Sam Wallace
A NAKED man armed with a 3ft samurai sword and a knife walked into a Surrey church yesterday and slashed indiscriminately at worshippers.
Six people, aged between 60 and 78, suffered slash and stab wounds. They were described as “stable” in hospital last night. One man had three hours of surgery for “horrific” facial injuries. Five others were hurt in the crush as the congregation fled.
Four hundred people were attending Mass at St Andrew’s Roman Catholic Church in Thornton Heath when the swordsman, described as a 26-year-old local man, burst in. Panic spread as mothers rushed to a neighbouring hall to fetch their children who were attending Sunday School.
Pc Tom Tracey, an off-duty policeman, ripped a 5ft long pipe from the organ to help overpower the man, aided by another member of the congregation who used a cross. He said: “The first thing I saw was people rushing to get out of the various exits of the church.
“I looked over and I saw a man wielding a sword around. People were rushing past and myself, along with several other male members of the parish, subdued the man just as he was near the altar. He was absolutely wild.”
Pc Tracey, who was attending Mass with his 13-year-old daughter, said: “Five minutes previously I was singing the psalm and the next thing you’re fighting a sword-wielding assailant.” Paramedics described how they were met with a scene of “blood and panic” as people scrambled across the slippery bloodstained floor to leave the church.
Among the most seriously injured was a 55-year-old man. Paramedics found him after following a trail of blood. The victim was slumped on the pavement two streets away with deep slashes to his face, neck and jaw. He had also lost a finger and thumb in the attack as he raised his hand to protect himself.
Kambiz Hashemi, consultant accident and emergency specialist at Mayday Hospital in Croydon, south London, said the victim had suffered the most horrific injuries he had ever seen. He said: “It was a very sharp, very powerful samurai sword that made a very clean cut. It is a miracle that his main artery was not cut.”
Marie Parcou, 66, from Thornton Heath, had to pull her husband, Jules, 73, to the floor to stop the attacker “slicing his head off”. She said: “I was just standing next to my husband and all of a sudden the man repeatedly cut him with his sword. My husband was spouting blood and I had to pull him to the ground before the maniac chopped his head off.”
Charles Ssuna, 35, a local businessman who was at the front of the church, recalled seeing blood on the floor and a man with his mouth slashed up to his cheek.
He said: “I saw the man completely naked with a long sword. It was gold and metal. He was just screaming but I couldn’t hear what he was saying over the screams of the congregation. It is unbelievable. I am still scared. If I were not a real Christian I would never come back.”
Tino Hernandez, 35, a press officer for Enfield Council, said: “I saw him slash at least 10 people. The two that stick in my mind are a pensioner who was slashed across the arm. I don’t know if it was severed but it seemed a terrible injury to me. I also saw a man slashed across the face and to see someone’s face split open and the blood pour out is not the sort of thing you ever want to see again.”
Nanette Frederiksson, a nurse who was taking a children’s service near the scene of the attack, told of “a mass of stampeding people rushing through the doors in hysteria”. She said: “There were at least 50 children at the liturgy. The door flew open as parents tried to make their way to get their children. It was mass hysteria and everyone was trying to escape.
“I picked up some of the children, one of my own and two others, and went rushing out of the church hall. I saw an elderly lady badly injured across her face. Her family was with her. I went inside a house and there was already a lady in there who had been slashed on her back.”
Evening Mass took place yesterday but was conducted at a Salvation Army hall where prayers were said for the injured. Fr John O’Toole, one of the three priests to take the service, said: “We can move so quickly from joyful, to ordinary, to tragic very quickly and it’s difficult for all our emotions to catch up so I am sure we are all numb with shock. It is not a time for words.”
Canon John Lennon, 78, who was celebrating Mass yesterday morning, said: “The choir was about to start singing when all hell broke lose. To my surprise I saw a number of men rushing down the aisle including, apparently, a man stark naked wielding a machete.”
He said: “I saw someone picking up an organ pipe and bashing him about the head. Five people grabbed him very quickly. I said to someone, ‘for God’s sake ring the police’. The police were there in about five minutes I suppose. I was waiting for the panic to subside. I was determined to finish the Mass. You don’t lightly abandon a Mass unless there is a nuclear explosion. A mere character with a machete wouldn’t put me off.”
Plastic surgeons at Mayday Hospital will today begin rebuilding the face of the most seriously injured victim, who suffered a sweeping cut from his jaw to the back of his neck. He is expected to suffer permanent difficulties in eating and speaking. He was transferred to intensive care last night after a series of operations.
One woman in her late sixties suffered a fractured skull from a blow to her forehead. A woman in her seventies sustained a deep injury to her right shoulder. A man in his sixties suffered cuts to his shoulder and neck, and a 36-year-old man suffered slashed tendons and a fractured forearm.
Jack Straw, the Home Secretary, last night extended his “deep” sympathy to the injured and their families.
A few volunteers were last night helping to clean up the church, where splashes of blood could be seen on the tiled floor in the aisle and in several pews. Hymn books and Mass books lay scattered across the benches and on the floor, along with personal items including a suede glove.
© Copyright of Telegraph Group Limited 1999.

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