The court ruled that the 26-year-old, who had been accused of planning 17 murders, declined to state the exact offence that he had been declared guilty of and ordered the man to undergo a psychiatric examination, according to the local Östgöta Correspondenten daily.

The prosecutor had previously filed charges for conspiring to murder.

The court furthermore ruled that as there was a risk for further criminal offences, the man should remain in custody.

The 26-year-old suspect, who was arrested while attempting to steal some potato salad on January 27th, stood accused of having drawn up a list with the names of 17 people that he planned to kidnap and murder, motivated by an apparent lust for revenge.

The list, found by police at the man’s home, included the shop assistant who intervened to stop the attempted theft as well as members of the country social services, while the majority of the people are reported to be medical staff with whom the man has come into contact.

Prosecutor Marianne Staff asked him in court to explain why he had drawn up the list, he replied that he had tried to “get information on illnesses”.

The “bolt pistol man” was brought to the attention of residents in the town after a report of an attack on a 45-year-old man who tried to scare off a would-be car thief, and was then attacked with a slaughter house bolt pistol.

In the weeks that followed the attack, several more reports emerged of a series of robberies involving a man armed with the weapon.

The 26-year-old is currently in the care of the regional forensic psychiatric clinic in Vadstena in central Sweden.