Man tried to kill Sunderland neighbour in psychotic episode

A man who tried to murder one neighbour by plunging a knife into his throat and almost killed another during a psychotic episode has been jailed for 27 years. Adam Ahmed, a 31-year-old from Sudan, attacked two men with a large kitchen knife at their block of flats in Sunderland in June last year, Newcastle Crown Court heard. Both the first victim, who was on the phone to his mother at the time, and the second man, who was stabbed in the stomach, had their lives saved by neighbours. Ahmed was found guilty of attempting to murder the first man and intentionally wounding the second. Having been also deemed a dangerous offender, he must serve an extra five years on extended licence. Judge Tim Gittins said Ahmed left "war-torn Sudan" about 12 years ago, travelling through Europe to arrive in the UK in 2018. Shortly after his arrival, he moved into a flat block on Roker Avenue in Sunderland where his two victims also lived, the court heard. The judge said Ahmed became "socially isolated" which "developed into distrust and then a degree of paranoia about [his] neighbours that was completely unwarranted". Psychiatrists later diagnosed Ahmed with having "psychotic depression" which had been