Indefinite Civil Commitment Ordered for Rochester Teenager
Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News) - An Olmsted County Judge has approved a prosecution request that could mean a Rochester teenager accused of a horrifying assault on a family member will never face charges. The judge authorized the civil commitment of 18-year-old Mahad Azzi as mentally ill and dangerous, which will keep him confined to a state security hospital indefinitely for long-term treatment.
Aziz was arrested in late July after Rochester Police were called to his home to check on a report of a fight and found young man straddling his father, who was lying on the floor. After subduing the teenager, the responding officers discovered his 74-year-old father’s eyes had apparently been gouged out.
His father told police he had intended to take his son to get some help for his mental illness just before the assault. A Mayo Clinic Doctor, seeking to treat Aziz with antipsychotic drugs that can help stop a patient from harming themselves, wrote a report to the court that stated Aziz “thinks he is possessed by the devil” and that he attacked his father because “he saw the devil in his eyes.” Since he was admitted to the hospital, the report says Aziz has “required repeated sedation due to ongoing erratic and self-injurious behavior, including repeated attempts to gouge out his own eyes.”