Omar Momand, 20, allegedly struck six people with a metal bar at Newton Community Hospital, leaving some staff barricaded in a bathroom and the outpatients department. He claimed a neighbour had spiked his orange juice with poison before the attack, Liverpool Crown Court heard.
Momand, who denies four counts of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm and one of attempting to cause grievous bodily harm with intent, is accused of attacking staff and members of the public over about 20 minutes on 30 December 2025. The metal bar he used was left bent out of shape, and a cord attached to one end appeared to secure his grip, with the words "ball stick" handwritten on the side.
Prosecution says he 'hunted down' victims
Jamie Baxter, prosecuting, told the jury of eight men and four women: "On the morning of the 30th of December 2025, a lone armed man walked into Newton Community Hospital in Newton-le-Willows. That man was the defendant."
He added: "Over the best part of half an hour, once the incident began, he attacked no fewer than five separate people, nurses, hospital staff and members of the public. He struck several of them about the head and body with a metal bar that he carried into the building concealed in his waist and, in some cases, returned to hurt some of the people after they had already been injured, lying on the floor."
Mr Baxter said the single question for the jury was whether Momand intended to cause grievous bodily harm. He argued that "deliberately striking multiple people in succession, quite literally hunting them down, can only lead to that sensible and straightforward conclusion."
Psychiatric evidence divides experts
The court heard that Momand was "in the grip of an acute episode of some psychotic illness" at the time and has been assessed by two psychiatrists. Mr Baxter said the experts disagree on a narrower question: whether his illness deprived him of the capacity to form an intention to cause grievous bodily harm.
"Even if his intention was impacted by his mental health, a delusional intention is still an intent," he said.
Before the attacks, Momand was captured on a neighbour's Ring doorbell camera leaving his home at Collingwood Court at around 10.30am, arriving at the hospital two minutes later. CCTV showed him sitting in a ground floor waiting area before walking upstairs to a GP surgery and asking for an appointment, but he was advised to attend a walk-in centre as he was not registered with the practice.
Attacks described in court
Momand remained on the premises for a further 90 minutes before commencing his "brutal attacks" at 12.01pm. Mr Baxter described how he approached Megan Lynch from behind at a vending machine and repeatedly struck her about the head. She suffered two wounds to her scalp, closed with sutures, as well as bruising.
Receptionist Jeanette Jones was struck to the head, elbow and back as she fled up a flight of stairs, managing to barricade herself in the outpatients department. Momand then smashed up the reception desk and computer equipment before chasing other staff, who escaped behind a locked door.
Three workers returning from lunch, Ian McGurk, Eleni Tsikou, and Michelle Stewart, were also assaulted. Mr McGurk sustained lacerations to his eyebrow and ear, Ms Tsikoua was left "heavily bleeding" from a cut to the back of her head, and Ms Stewart was struck five to six times to the head while lying on the floor, suffering a "significant head injury."
Momand also hit a sixth victim, a pharmacy assistant, on the leg. A member of the public entered the hospital with a golf club after his partner, who worked there, alerted him to the attack. Police used PAVA spray to no effect before detaining Momand with the assistance of a police dog.
In a prepared statement in March, Momand claimed he had "drank orange juice which he believed had been poisoned by a neighbour" the previous evening, felt confused afterwards, and had no memory of what happened at the hospital. Mr Baxter said: "There is no doubt that he did have mental health issues at the time and there was an onset of them. The prosecution suggest, very candidly, that he is using that now as an excuse for his actions."
The trial, before Recorder Gavin McBride, continues. Momand is represented by Sarah Griffin.
