Incheon Knife Rampage Suspect: "I Chose People Who Looked Weaker Than Me"

"Reported by the hospital where he received treatment... dissatisfied at being investigated"
Police: "Motive is incomprehensible... investigation ongoing"
Woman found in cardiac arrest relies on mechanical ventilation... 10 victims in total

A man in his 50s who injured eight people by randomly wielding a weapon at a commercial facility in Namdong-gu, Incheon, said he had targeted people who “looked weaker” than him. He said he was angry after being reported by a hospital where he was receiving treatment for athlete’s foot and becoming the subject of a police investigation, and claimed he wanted to attract attention.

CCTV footage captured a man in his 50s moving through a commercial building in Namdong-gu, Incheon, after he went on a knife rampage there on the afternoon of the 13th, injuring eight people. Yonhap News Agency

According to the Namdong Police Station in Incheon on October 14, A, 59, who was arrested on October 13 on suspicion of attempted murder and other charges, told police, “I was dissatisfied with the hospital where I received treatment, and I was also angry that the hospital reported me and I became the subject of a police investigation.” A also insisted, “I committed the crime to attract attention and make my grievances known to society,” and “I did not select specific targets. I chose people who looked weaker than me, but I had no intention of killing them.”

A was booked without detention early in October after being accused of possessing a weapon in a public place the previous month, and was questioned by the Gyeyang Police Station in Incheon. He was reportedly dissatisfied because his symptoms did not improve despite receiving treatment for athlete’s foot at a hospital in Gyeyang-gu, Incheon. For this reason, he had been holding solo protests in front of the hospital while carrying a weapon since August.

Police have assigned three profilers to assess the credibility of A’s claims and are focusing on identifying his specific motive. They also plan to seek a warrant to detain him on suspicion of attempted murder and possessing a weapon in a public place.

A was also carrying a large quantity of medication at the time of the crime, but police believe it was prescription medication—not narcotics—based on the packaging, which bore the name of a specific neuropsychiatric clinic. A rapid drug screening test also came back negative. Police have requested a drug analysis from the National Forensic Service.

A police official said, “It is incomprehensible by any reasonable standard why he targeted people he did not know at a commercial complex rather than the hospital he was dissatisfied with,” adding, “We plan to continue the investigation.”

Police patrol a commercial complex in Namdong-gu, Incheon, where a knife attack occurred on the 14th. Yonhap News.

Police initially said on October 13 that there were nine victims in the incident, but corrected the figure to 10 on October 14. The additional victim was not injured; the tip of the weapon A swung struck a pack of cigarettes in the person’s pocket. Excluding one of the 10 victims whose clothing was torn, the number of injured remains eight, as previously reported.

A police official said, “One of the eight injured people, a 19-year-old woman found in cardiac arrest, underwent emergency surgery yesterday and her heartbeat returned. However, she remains unconscious, cannot breathe on her own, and is currently reliant on mechanical ventilation.”

A had injured several people by swinging a weapon at random members of the public at a commercial facility in Guwol-dong, Namdong-gu, Incheon, on the afternoon of October 13. He was wearing an electronic monitoring ankle bracelet at the time and was under the Ministry of Justice’s electronic monitoring program. It was also revealed that shortly before the crime, he had met with an outside expert and then had lunch with a Ministry of Justice probation officer. The ministry apologized, saying, “We take this incident very seriously.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.