A mentally disturbed man who said he shot at Athens Mayor-elect Dora Bakoyianni on Friday to get her attention was committed yesterday to the Korydallos Prison psychiatric ward after appearing before a magistrate.

Car mechanic Giorgos Sandalis, 35, was charged on Saturday with attempted murder and firearms offences for the shotgun attack near the conservative MP’s office on Dionysiou Areopagitou Street, under the Acropolis. Bakoyianni, 48, escaped with minor cuts from broken glass, while her driver suffered a non-life-threatening neck wound.

In testimony yesterday, according to court sources, Sandalis — who has been repeatedly treated for mental illness since 1997 — said he had not wanted to kill the MP. “I wanted the bang to be heard so that Mrs Bakoyianni would pay attention to me,” he was quoted as saying. “I wanted to tell (PM Costas Simitis) that the government and the police should stop tailing me.” Yesterday, Bakoyianni said she would not take civil action against Sandalis. “People with psychological problems should be treated as sick people,” she said.