Incheon:Eight individuals were wounded in a knife attack that took place in a commercial complex in Incheon, west of Seoul, on Tuesday. The incident occurred when a 59-year-old man, with knives fastened to his hands, attacked people while moving on an escalator between the second basement floor and the second floor above ground.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the man was subdued by shoppers and later taken into custody by police. All eight victims were immediately transported to hospitals, including a woman in her 20s who was in cardiac arrest. Although she recovered after emergency surgery, she has not regained consciousness.
The police plan to seek a formal arrest warrant for the suspect, who was found to be carrying a large quantity of drugs and was wearing an electronic ankle monitor due to a previous conviction. It was reported that he admitted to taking drugs at the time of the attack. His ankle monitor was mandated for a decade after a four-year prison sentence in 2019 for attempting to murder his former wife.
President Lee Jae Myung visited the Incheon Metropolitan Police Agency to receive a briefing and called for a thorough investigation. He urged for special measures against violent crimes and a thorough examination of the ankle monitor management system. The justice ministry apologized for the incident and committed to investigating and improving the monitoring system.
Kim Jong-chul, acting chief of the National Police Agency, directed a swift investigation and strengthening of preventive measures in crowded public places during a virtual meeting with police agency chiefs.