Fourteen people were wounded Thursday after a man drove a car onto a pedestrian walkway and went on a stabbing rampage at a department store in Seongnam, just south of Seoul, police said.
The police apprehended the 20-something suspect, only known by his surname Choi, just five minutes after receiving a report at around 5:59 p.m. that a man was stabbing people at the department store adjacent to the Seohyeon subway station.
The suspect is employed in the delivery industry, according to sources.
Nine people were stabbed by the attacker, with eight of them in critical condition, according to officials. Five others were hit by the car before the rampage, with two of them suffering serious injuries.
The victims’ ages ranged from 20s to 70s.
The suspect repeated incomprehensible statements to the police, including that “an unknown group” attempted to murder him with a hitman.
Choi tested negative in a rapid drug test and was found not to be under the influence of alcohol.
The police plan to send hair samples to the National Forensic Service to carry out detailed tests and check his mental health records.
According to witnesses at the scene, the suspect wore a black outfit and sunglasses, and brandished a knife estimated to be around 50 to 60 centimeters long. The suspect entered the department store after his car did not move, they added.
Members of the police’s special operation unit enter the scene of a stabbing rampage at a department store adjacent to Seohyeon Station in Seongnam, just south of Seoul, on Aug. 3. Yonhap
While some witnesses claimed there was more than one offender, the police concluded that there were no accomplices.
South Korea’s police chief called the accident an “act of terror,” and vowed to increase patrols in crowded areas and strengthen surveillance through security cameras.
“There are concerns over copycat crimes due to a series of accidents, with people expressing fears of coming out onto the street,” National Police Agency Commissioner General Yoon Hee-keun said during a meeting, calling for officers to strengthen visible police activities at crowded locations.
On July 21, a 33-year-old man named Cho Seon also fatally stabbed a complete stranger in his 20s near Seoul’s Sillim Station and then attacked three other men in a nearby alleyway.
Cho was formally arrested two days later on charges of murder and attempted murder.
In a separate event, the police also launched an investigation into an online post which threatened another stabbing rampage at Ori Station located in Seongnam on Friday afternoon. The police said it has dispatched officers to the area. (Yonhap)
