UNC 'Hit-And-Run' Suspect Ordered to Dorothea Dix for Evaluation

RALEIGH, N.C. — A man accused of driving a sport utility vehicle through a crowd of UNC students will be placed at Dorothea Dix Hospital after he made disparaging remarks in court Monday.

During the hearing, Mohammed Taheri-Azar yelled in court that he "hates all Americans" and "hates all Jews." Taheri-azar then looked at Judge Ken Titus and asked him what his name was and then asked him to spell it. Taheri-azar then looked at his attorney and said, "I don't know him."

Titus ordered that Taheri-azar be sent to the hospital to determine whether he is competent to stand trial. That evaluation could take anywhere from 28 to 60 days. Taheri-Azar also made obscene gestures while he was being removed from the courtroom.

Taheri-azar was supposed to appear in court to discuss letters he wrote to Judge Carl Fox while in prison. The content of those letters is not known, but the judge ordered them to be sealed.

Authorities said Taheri-azar admitted to driving his vehicle into nine people on the UNC campus in March 2006. No one was seriously injured. Taheri-azar said he did it to avenge the deaths of Muslims around the world.

Taheri-azar pleaded not guilty in January to attempted murder and assault charges. He was scheduled to go to court later in March to begin the pre-trial motions.

 is not known what is in the letters written to the court by Taheri-azar. Taheri-azar is currently being held at Central Prison in Raleigh on a $5.5 million bond.