Man from Lancashire given indefinite hospital order after attempted murder of three people

Following an investigation by Counter Terrorism Policing North West, a man who stabbed two women at a Marks and Spencer store in Burnley in 2020 and a male nurse in 2023, has today (Monday 2 September 2024) been sentenced to an indefinite hospital order under the Mental Health Act.

Munawar Hussain (20/12/1963), from Lancashire, has been given a Section 37 Hospital Order under the Mental Health Act and will be detained at a hospital in Merseyside.

The judge subsequently ordered restrictions under S41 Mental Health Act 1983 as it is considered necessary to protect the public from serious harm.

The order means that Hussain can only be discharged by the Secretary of State for Justice or the Mental Health Tribunal.

In March 2023 at Manchester Crown Court he was found guilty of one count of attempted murder and one count of a section 18 assault.

On Wednesday 2 December 2020, Hussain went to the Marks and Spencer store on St James Street, Burnley and attacked the store manager and a customer with a knife.

Both victims sustained serious injuries requiring extensive medical treatment.

The offender was bravely apprehended by store security and members of the public, before officers arrived and arrested him.

Hussain later told officers that he targeted the store because he believed that Marks and Spencer funded Israel in persecuting Palestinian people in the Middle East.

Shortly after his arrest, Hussain was remanded and detained under the Mental Health Act.

Whilst waiting for sentencing, he was remanded back to a secure mental health hospital in the Lancashire area, and on Monday 26 June 2023, he attempted to murder a male nurse by trying to stab him with a kitchen knife.

At a subsequent court hearing at Manchester Crown Court on Friday 6 June 2023, he pleaded guilty to this offence.

Chief Superintendent Sarah Kenwright of CTPNW said: “These incidents are deeply disturbing and traumatising for all the victims. We have supported them and they have been at the forefront of our minds throughout the investigation and the subsequent trial.

“No one should go to their place of work or out shopping and fear for their lives, sadly this has been a reality for three people, who have undoubtedly had their lives changed, both physically and mentally, by Hussain’s actions.

“Our subsequent investigation, and ultimately today's sentencing, means that Hussain will remain in a safe place for him to get the treatment he needs, and that the public are safe from the threat that he clearly posed that day.”

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