A new lawsuit, filed by the family of a man beaten to death by a fellow patient at a Minnesota mental health facility, alleges that the staff violated policy by allowing the suspect to play a violent video game just prior to the killing.
The lawsuit was filed Monday in federal court against the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) and several employees of the Forensic Mental Health Program (FMHP). It alleges that neglect and indifference led to the killing of 38-year-old Abdirashid Mohamed Hussein.
Hussein was found dead in the early hours of January 1, 2024, after being bludgeoned to death with an electric guitar at the Minnesota Security Hospital in St. Peter.
His roommate, David Michael Otey, 45, was acquitted six months later of unintentional murder and three counts of assault due to his mental illness. He remains a resident at the facility.
The lawsuit was brought on behalf of Hussein’s brother and alleges that staff failed to intervene despite clear warning signs about Otey’s deteriorating mental state.
Otey was known to have a violent criminal history, including the 2018 murder of his sister, and a history of “delusional and violent psychosis,” according to a news release from the Storms Dworak law firm.
In the months leading up to the killing, the suit alleges Otey had been “spiral(ing) downward… showing symptoms of sleeplessness, growing irritable and anxious, and missing work and group counseling sessions.”
But despite those red flags, the facility allegedly allowed Otey to “stay up late at night and play violent video games” in a common area, in full view of staff and in violation of program rules, the suit claims.
On the night of the killing, Otey had played a video game called “Assassin’s Creed Valhalla” when he became “disoriented and confused and went into his room and admittedly swung a guitar ‘like an ax,’ killing Hussein,” the suit states.
A court-appointed psychologist later found that the attack mirrored elements of the game, noting the guitar swinging was “potentially near exact to some of the dynamics observed” in gameplay.
“The game is rated ‘M’ for mature due to blood and gore,” the suit reads. “The game’s protagonist wields an ax or sword to bludgeon and murder other characters in a life-like manner.”
The psychologist concluded Otey’s confusion and disorientation were “likely due in part to his exposure to extreme violence paired with the entire aforementioned stressors he was undergoing.”
The Forensic Mental Health Program is part of Minnesota Direct Care and Treatment (DCT), which operated under DHS until July 2025, when it became a standalone agency, KARE11 reported.
DCT Health System CEO Marshall Smith issued a statement to KARE11. “The loss of Abdi Hussein was a terrible tragedy that left his friends, family, and partners in treatment heartbroken. Our thoughts and sympathies are with his closest loved ones,” he said.
The case is pending in federal court and will move into pretrial phases.
“This case involves a shocking lack of concern for the safety of other patients in allowing a mentally ill and dangerous individual who is already unravelling to play violent video games,” Ryan Vettleson, attorney for Hussein’s family, said in a statement. “The result is tragically predictable.”
