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Man attempts to amputate own arm

01/09/2008

A man has tried to cut off his own arm in a California restaurant believing that his veins were full of air.

Michael Lasiter, 33, had been taking cocaine in a motel room when he became convinced he had got air into his bloodstream, a potentially fatal condition.

He then decided that the only way to save his life would be to remove his arm, so he ran into a nearby restaurant in Modesto and snatched a butter knife from a customer's table and began stabbing himself.

The 33-year-old's attempt to remove his arm with a butter knife failed, despite repeatedly stabbing himself in the right arm, so he ran into the kitchen and began hacking his arm with a butcher's knife.

Police were called to the Denny's restaurant and eventually managed to subdue Mr Lasiter using a Taser gun before he was able to detach the limb.

Local police sergeant, Brian Findlen, said: "He wouldn't obey a substantial number of commands and continued to stab himself.

"He was digging the knife into his arm. I've never seen anything like that before.

"There were some tense moments but a lot of patrons didn't know what was going on."

Mr Lasiter was arrested at the scene and taken to hospital where he is currently being treated for severe knife wounds.