On Sunday, a man carrying a knife on a Tokyo commuter train assaulted multiple people before setting fire to the train, according to authorities. According to NHK public television, at least ten people were hurt. One of them was critically injured. According to NHK, the assailant, who was only described as a male in his 20s, was apprehended on the spot and probed for attempted murder. His motivation was unknown at the time.
According to Tokyo police, the incident took place inside the Keio train near Kokuryo station. Several firefighters, police officers, and paramedics were shown on television rescuing passengers, many of whom had fled via train windows. Passengers were seen fleeing from another automobile that was engulfed in flames in one footage.
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According to NHK, after stabbing passengers, the suspect spilled a substance that looked like oil and lit it on fire. Shunsuke Kimura, who shot the footage, told NHK that he observed passengers fleeing and that while he was trying to figure out what was going on, he heard an explosion and saw smoke billowing.
The incident was the second in two months on a Tokyo train with a knife. In August, a 36-year-old man stabbed ten passengers on a Tokyo commuter train in the act of random violence the day before the Tokyo Olympics closing ceremony. Later, the guy informed authorities that he intended to attack cheerful ladies.
The man was seated in a railway compartment when police officers entered. According to reports, the individual did not fight being apprehended. A guy suspected to be the assailant is shown in a video dressed in attire that mimics The Joker, the notorious villain from the “Batman” franchise. He is spotted sitting alone on a railway seat, peacefully enjoying a cigarette after the train has stopped. Police encircle a man who looks to be the same individual in another video.
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The event occurred on a 10-car train going for Shinjuku Station, causing alarm among passengers who couldn’t see due to the fire and smoke. The attack happened as people were going to the city center for Halloween festivities, and it was the latest in a succession of incidents tied to train service. In August, two individuals were hurt in a Tokyo subway station after a guy splashed sulfuric acid on another man’s face.
