Man with knife injures 17 people on Tokyo train, starts fire

TOKYO — A antheral dressed successful Batman’s Joker costume and brandishing a weapon connected a Tokyo commuter bid connected Sunday stabbed respective passengers earlier starting a fire, which sent radical scrambling to flight and jumping from windows, constabulary and witnesses said.

The Tokyo Fire Department said 17 passengers were injured, including 3 seriously. Not each of them were stabbed and astir of the different injuries were not serious, the bureau said.

The attacker, identified arsenic a 24-year-old man, was arrested connected the spot and was being investigated connected suspicion of attempted murder, NHK said. His motive was not instantly known.

Nippon Television reported that the fishy told constabulary that helium wanted to termination and get a decease penalty, and that helium utilized an earlier bid stabbing lawsuit arsenic an example.

Witnesses told constabulary that the attacker was wearing a agleam outfit — a greenish shirt, a bluish suit and a purple overgarment — similar the Joker successful Batman comics oregon idiosyncratic going to a Halloween event, according to media reports.

Tokyo constabulary officials said the onslaught happened wrong the Keio bid adjacent the Kokuryo station.

Television footage showed a fig of firefighters, constabulary officials and paramedics rescuing the passengers, galore of whom escaped done bid windows. In 1 video, passengers were moving from different car, wherever flames were gushing.

NHK said the suspect, aft stabbing passengers, poured a liquid resembling lipid from a integrative vessel and acceptable fire, which partially burned seats.

Shunsuke Kimura, who filmed the video, told NHK that helium saw passengers desperately moving and portion helium was trying to fig retired what happened, helium heard an explosive sound and saw fume wafting. He besides jumped from a model but fell connected the level and wounded his shoulder.

“Train doors were closed and we had nary thought what was happening, and we jumped from the windows,” Kimura said. “It was horrifying.”

The onslaught was the 2nd involving a weapon connected a Tokyo bid successful 2 months.

In August, the time earlier the Tokyo Olympics closing ceremony, a 36-year-old antheral stabbed 10 passengers connected a commuter bid successful Tokyo successful a random burst of violence. The fishy aboriginal told constabulary that helium wanted to onslaught women who looked happy.

While shooting deaths are uncommon successful Japan, the state has had a bid of high-profile weapon killings successful caller years.

In 2019, a antheral carrying 2 knives attacked a radical of schoolgirls waiting astatine a autobus halt conscionable extracurricular Tokyo, sidesplitting 2 radical and injuring 17 earlier sidesplitting himself. In 2018, a antheral killed a rider and injuring 2 others successful a weapon onslaught connected a slug train. In 2016, a erstwhile worker astatine a location for the disabled killed 19 radical and injured much than 20.