A Syrian national used a carving knife to slash another man across the forehead at a hostel in Cork and he falsely imprisoned another man in a bedroom until a trained negotiator persuaded him to release the victim. Mr O’Sullivan made a number of attempts to leave but Zreik stopped him and pushed him back on two occasions. The negotiator spoke with the accused for an hour before he agreed to release Mr O’Sullivan. Dr Wright said his auditory hallucinations included believing that people saying innocuous things on television were making coded threats or criticisms directly to him. “Once he believed there were cameras inside his home taking pictures of him,” Dr Wright said.

Source: Irish Examiner June 10, 2021 17:00 UTC