Assem Al Sadat

Assem Al Sadat was an Egyptian who wounded 22 people in Banha, Egypt, on December 27, 2001, before being arrested.

The 42 year old was mentally ill and had been confined to a mental institution, but had escaped and stolen a machete about a week before the rampage. During the morning of December 27, Sadat went to the downtown area of the city, called Wast Al-Balad. After arriving, Sadat stood by the side of the road where he incoherently yelled at passerby. When one man attempted to grab the machete away from him, Sadat slashed him across the arms, and then began randomly assaulting people in the street. 21 of the victims were lightly injured, but one woman was critically injured when Sadat slashed here throat, severing her thyroid, before stabbing her several times in the stomach, causing some of her intestines to fall out. After about 10 minutes police arrived at the scene and subdued Sadat. While in custody, he told the officers that a voice had told him that the people in the street were members of Al Qaeda, and that he had to kill them in order to save innocent lives.