Swedish Guard Idle in Castle Attack

Sweden’s royal guards came under attack today for failing to stop a mental patient who broke into King Carl Gustaf’s residential palace and smashed valuable art objects in a half-hour rampage.

“It is a scandal. It is just crazy that he was able to go on a 30-minute rampage before the police arrived on the scene,” said Police Inspector Ulf Magnetorp.

The 38-year-old man, who suffers from schizophrenia, forced open a door of the 17th-Century Drottningholm Palace Sunday morning. The main guard, armed with a submachine gun with a fixed bayonet, followed his instructions and called the police instead of charging after the man.

“The army’s guard instructions should be reviewed. If the guard had followed the man the damage could have been prevented,” Magnegard said. He said it could take up to a year to fix the damage.

The king and his family are vacationing at the summer residence of Solliden, on the southeastern island of Oland.