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A 24-year-old Japanese man dressed in a Joker outfit has been arrested for attempted murder after stabbing commuters onboard Tokyo’s Keio Line train and setting it on fire during Halloween (Oct 31).
The train was en route to Shinjuku, where a majority of the commuters were heading for Halloween celebrations.
Lit the train on fire after stabbing rampage
According to local media reports, the suspect was holding a kitchen knife and a plastic bottle as he wandered within the train.
Bloomberg reported that he then sank his knife into the right chest of a passenger in his 70s before setting the train on fire with lighter liquid.
16 other people were also reported to have suffered minor injuries, including smoke inhalation.
Horrifying footage surfaces online
It took little time for chilling photos and videos of the incident to be uploaded on Twitter, horrifying many.
In one of the videos, passengers could be seen fleeing to the train cabin coupled with terrified screams in the background.
京王線社内で火災発生 pic.twitter.com/94cLtJkDy4
— しずくβ (@siz33) October 31, 2021
Some also tried escaping from the windows.
京王線火災で逃げる人々 pic.twitter.com/ZfN1pD0C2V
— しずくβ (@siz33) October 31, 2021
Authorities later showed up at the scene to put the situation under control.
京王線火災（テロ？）規制線が貼られました pic.twitter.com/TJDkIef0EO
— しずくβ (@siz33) October 31, 2021
‘I want the death penalty’
The Japan Metropolitan Police Department has since confirmed that they have arrested a 24-year-old the suspect.
The suspect, identified as Kyota Hattori, was first sighted in a video calming smoking a cigarette prior to the stabbings while dressed as the antagonist from Batman.
Hattori also reportedly told police that he “wanted to kill people so that [he] would be sentenced to death”.
The attack has since shaken the relatively safe country, with government spokesman Hirokazu Matsuno slamming the incident as “atrocious and brutal”.
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Cover Images via Twitter
Editor: Sarah Yeoh
