A care home resident with schizophrenia stabbed a staff member in the chest with a pair of scissors during an unprovoked attack, a court heard.
Daniel Smith, aged 28, carried out the assault at The Gables - an assisted living facility for adults in Anson Street, Rugeley - on June 11, 2025.
Attack details
Crown prosecutor Chan Shoker told Stafford Crown Court: "The victim was working his shift, having started at 8am. At approximately 1.10pm, he entered what appeared to be the reception and communal area. Mr Smith entered that area and approached the victim."
"What then happens is that Mr Smith, with a pair of scissors, strikes him in the chest. The victim was pushed back by the force," Mr Shoker said. "What follows is a degree of confusion. Ultimately, the victim exits the area into a hallway. Mr Smith exits through a different door."
Mr Shoker explained the victim suffered a "small puncture wound" to his chest and noticed a "hissing sound" caused by "air escaping from his body".
Injuries and arrest
An ambulance was called to The Gables, before the man was taken to hospital where doctors discovered his right lung had collapsed. He spent two days in hospital before being discharged, and was subsequently signed off from work for six weeks.
Meanwhile, Smith was arrested in his flat, where police officers discovered the pair of scissors in his hallway, still bearing the victim's blood.
Following his arrest, Smith claimed staff were not listening to him, were controlling him, and were not giving him the help he required, the court was told. Stafford Crown Court heard he was not taking his medication at the time of the attack.
Psychiatric assessment
Dr Ray, a consultant forensic psychiatrist treating Smith, said the defendant suffers from schizophrenia and has a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder. Asked by Recorder R Brand for the best outcome, Dr Ray recommended a Section 37 hospital order, which would place the defendant in hospital for treatment rather than prison, alongside a Section 41 restriction order, which would restrict his release without government approval.
Smith's defence counsel, Emily Waggott, said: "He accepts what he did was exceptionally dangerous and had significant impacts on his victim. Nothing like this has happened before. When he is engaging with his medication, nothing like this will happen again."
Court outcome
Stafford Crown Court heard Smith pleaded guilty to Section 18 wounding with intent, on the first day that his planned trial was due to take place.
Addressing Smith, the judge, Recorder R Brand, said: "Mr Daniel Smith, this really wasn't like you to do something as serious as this, to a man who you had no argument with. The answer to it lies in the fact that you were unwell at the time.
"Now, we all know that living with schizophrenia isn't easy. You have a difficult road ahead of you. But there are some really positive things in your life, you have a loving and caring family."
She continued: "This happened, an attack on the victim, after you had stopped taking your depot injections. You thought you didn't need them. It looks like history has proved you wrong. You do need them in order to stay well and in order to live the best life that you can live."
Recorder Brand detained Smith, of Anson Street in Rugeley, under Section 37 and Section 41 of the Mental Health Act 1983, as recommended by the doctor. The judge also made a deprivation order for the scissors used in the attack, stripping Smith of ownership so the weapon can be destroyed.
She added: "It's obviously the best way of dealing with you. Sending you with your problems to custody is utterly undesirable. I very much hope you will stay well and we will never see you in a crown court again."
