Doctor: Tennessee church shooting suspect has mental illness

NASHVILLE – A psychiatrist has identified mental illnesses in the man accused of fatally shooting a woman and wounding seven people at a Tennessee church in 2017.

According to The Tennessean , a defence attorney read report excerpts about 27-year-old Emanuel Kidega Samson in a Nashville court Wednesday.

The psychiatrist diagnosed Samson with “schizoaffective disorder bipolar type” and post-traumatic stress disorder after an abusive, violent upbringing.

He found Samson heard voices, hallucinated and had intense mood swings, with “delusional beliefs” about predicting the future and controlling people with his mind.

He determined Samson’s mental disease drove his actions in the Nashville shooting at Burnette Chapel Church of Christ. He couldn’t say if the insanity defence legal standard was met.

Prosecutors have said they’re seeking life without parole for Samson, who faces first-degree murder and other charges.