Mustafa Mohamed, who is accused of stabbing six people at Goodwin House retirement home in Alexandria, appeared in General District Court for less than five minutes on Monday, Feb. 14.
Before Mohamed's preliminary hearing was set to begin, defense attorney William B. Moffitt requested that Mohamed, 30, of Alexandria, be further evaluated to determine his competency to stand trial.
After Commonwealth's Attorney S. Randolph Sengel had no objection, Mohamed left the courtroom and will be sent to Central State Hospital in Petersburg for psychiatric evaluation.
Dr. C. Richard Filson, a psychologist who conducted a preliminary evaluation of Mohamed, recommended that "further evaluation to determine competency be conducted in a hospital setting," according to court records.
Alexandria General District Court Judge E. Robert Giammittorio ordered Mohamed's psychiatric evaluation.
According to the court order, "it appears that there is probable cause to believe the defendant may lack substantial capacity to understand the proceedings against him or to assist his attorneys in his own defense.”
The evaluation should not exceed 30 days from the date of his admission to Central State Hospital, according to the order.
Mohamed's next hearing is scheduled for March 30 in General District Court in Alexandria.
<b>POLICE WERE CALLED</b> to the retirement home on the afternoon of Sunday, Jan. 9, after a staff member reported that Mohamed, a member of the housekeeping staff, was attacking people with a knife, according to Alexandria police reports.
John Springer, 62, was visiting his 95-year-old mother when he heard a scream and assisted an employee who was being attacked. Four elderly residents, all over 88 years old, were also attacked by Mohamed.
There were no fatalities.
Mohamed, who immigrated to the United States from Somalia, was charged with two counts of malicious wounding and was being held at Alexandria jail without bond.