A man in St. Petersburg has died after eating parts of a smashed-up tablet computer to avoid being detained by police, the law enforcement agency said Monday.

Police were called to an apartment in the city at about 5 p.m. on Sunday after reports that someone was throwing items out of a window, the regional branch of the Interior Ministry said in a statement.

When the local police commissioner arrived at the scene, the 41-year-old unemployed man started to behave strangely by eating pieces of glass and the smashed-up tablet to avoid detention, the statement added.

The policeman, who was injured while trying to stop the man from eating his tablet, called an ambulance to the scene but the man lost consciousness and died before it arrived, the statement added.

An investigation into the circumstances surrounding the man's death is ongoing