A Warsaw court placed a 37-year-old man in pre-trial detention for three months after prosecutors charged him with attempting to kill a pedestrian on Nowogrodzka Street. inPoland.net.pl reported the decision on Sunday, October 25.

The assault occurred at about noon on October 22 near the Novotel hotel. Prosecutors allege that the suspect struck a 58-year-old man in the head, neck and arms with a 17-centimetre cleaver. The victim was taken to hospital, and a forensic examiner assessed his injuries as moderate.

Police launched a search involving multiple units and service dogs. Officers arrested the suspect shortly after 4 p.m. the same day in a shopping-centre car park in Warsaw’s Wola district.

The man was formally charged on October 24. He pleaded not guilty and declined to give a statement or answer investigators’ questions. Prosecutors said the victim’s defensive actions prevented the alleged attacker from completing the killing; the case is due to proceed to court after the investigation.