A 2-year-old boy was stabbed to death in front of his mother in the central city of Lod on Thursday, with the suspect reportedly saying he heard “voices” before committing the crime.

The toddler was taken in critical condition to Assaf Harofeh Medical Center with knife wounds to his head. Doctors were unable to save his life and pronounced him dead.

A man was arrested as a suspect in the attack, Israel Police said. It noted that contrary to an initial assessment, the suspect does not have any familial connection to the victim.

Indicating the man’s possible mental condition, police said, “He will be brought to a hearing with a request to extend his detention along with a request for a professional evaluation.”

Lod Mayor Yair Ravivo called the incident “a tragedy.”

He described the suspect as “mentally disturbed, who claimed to have heard a mysterious voice speaking to him.”

The man “ran amok towards a baby carriage in the shopping center in the Ganei Aviv neighborhood, and stabbed him to death in front of his mother,” Ravivo said.

A local resident who gave only his first name Moshe to the Walla outlet said he was in a supermarket when he heard shouts.

“I ran outside and saw a man overcoming the suspect, putting a knee on his throat to hold him down,” Moshe said, adding that at first, people thought it was a terror attack and even tried to assault the suspect.

“I saw [the suspect’s] face and I understood it wasn’t an attack,” Moshe said.

He said he could see the toddler with stab wounds lying in his stroller and immediately alerted police and first responders.

“I could see the family of the baby in the area, people crying and collapsing,” Moshe said.