Man dressed as Joker arrested after knife, fire attack on Tokyo train leaves 17 injured
A man was arrested for attempted murder after a knife and fire attack on a train in Tokyo on Sunday (Nov. 1 Manila time), Japanese media said, with at least 17 people reportedly injured and one in critical condition after being stabbed.
Eyewitnesses told national broadcaster NHK of their fear during the attack that took place on Halloween when the Japanese capital was full of revellers, many in costume.
Media outlets said the alleged 24-year-old perpetrator -- wearing a green shirt and indigo suit reminiscent of the Joker -- attacked people with a knife and started a fire on the train.
Kyodo News and NHK reported that 17 people were wounded, with one elderly man in critical condition after being stabbed.
こやつが
— 生形たけし (@takahashi9811) October 31, 2021
京王線の犯人です
右手にナイフ
左手にタバコめちゃくちゃ手は震えてた
とにかくこいつにむかつきました
すごくみんな必死に逃げて
僕がみんなに窓から出ろ言い死にものぐるいでみんなででてたこいつの前まで来ました
本当に許せなかった
殴りたかったです
#京王線#京王線刃物#犯人 pic.twitter.com/fdlLN9nj1Z
A video clip published by NHK showed panicked passengers running through the train as smoke filled the carriage, with flames also visible.
Another video posted on Twitter showed people climbing through windows to escape the Keio Line train at a station.
The line operator said services had been partially suspended after "an incident involving injuries" took place just before 8:00 pm near Kokuryo in the Japanese capital's western suburbs.
Dozens of firefighters and police officers were seen working outside the station.
"At first I thought it was something like a Halloween event. But I rushed away as a man carrying a long knife came in. I was very fortunate not to be injured," a man who was on the train told NHK.
The attacker carried out the act without showing any emotion, a female passenger said.
"He held a knife and started spreading liquid," she said.
"He was committing this act without showing any emotion, just mechanically. I think that brought fear to everyone."
Kyodo reported that the suspect had told investigators he "wanted to kill people and be given the death penalty". He also told them he had spread lighter fluid in the train.
Local police officials could not immediately be reached for comment. Regional police said they had no information for immediate release.
? #BREAKING - #Tokyo | #Japan
— Mr.Mugen (@iam_mugen) October 31, 2021
Video shows people pleasing the train due a fire and knife attack
Report that a man has injured at least 15 people after setting fire to a subway car before attacking people with a knife.
?#東京 #京王線pic.twitter.com/XSzxOxhWGg
Rare violent crime
Violent crime is rare in Japan, but in August, nine people were wounded, one of them seriously, in a stabbing attack on a commuter train in Tokyo, with the suspect later handing himself in after fleeing the scene.
In a separate attack that same month, two people suffered burns in an acid attack at a Tokyo subway station.
Japan has strict gun laws, but there are occasional violent crimes involving other weapons.
In 2019, a man killed two people including a schoolgirl and wounded more than a dozen in a rampage that targeted children as they waited for a bus.
And in 2018, a man was arrested in central Japan after stabbing one person to death and injuring two others aboard a bullet train. (AFP)
