FEDERAL LAWSUIT ALLEGES VIOLENT VIDEO GAME TRIGGERED FATAL ASSAULT AT ST. PETER FACILITY

A federal lawsuit filed Monday alleges a video game triggered psychosis in a man at a Minnesota mental health facility who then fatally attacked a man.   Abshir Mohamed Hussein filed the lawsuit as a trustee for the next of kin of Abdirashi Hussein, who court records say was killed New Year’s Eve 2023.  It names the Minnesota Department of Human Services, which runs the Forensic Mental Health Program in St. Peter and five staff members who worked for the agency at the time.  The complaint says that in September 2022, David Otey was making significant progress in treatment and was moved to the north campus of the St. Peter facility, where people are on track to be transitioned back into the community.  The court document says that Otey was approved for pass-eligible status in September 2023, allowing him to temporarily leave the facility.  The complaint says that the night Hussein was killed, Otey was reportedly playing “Assassin’s Creed Valhalla”, became disoriented and confused, grabbed a guitar and swung it like an ax at Hussein and then strangled him with the guitar strap.  Patients are prohibited from playing violent video games in the facility.  Otey was taken to the Nicollet County Jail and charged with one count of second-degree murder and second-degree assault.  He was found not guilty in June 2024 by reason of mental illness.  The lawsuit said staff members named in the court document did not stop him from playing the video game when they knew Otey posed a risk of serious harm to others.  Abshir Mohamed Hussin is asking the court for at least a million dollars in compensation.