Train Halloween knife attack dressed as Joker that injured at least 17 people got arrested
A 24-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder in the Japanese capital Tokyo after a knife attack on a train left at least 17 people injured Sunday evening; police told as many people were streaming into the city centre to celebrate Halloween.
Witnesses say the suspect was wearing a costume that appeared to depict the character of the Joker from the Batman franchise. At least one passenger, a man in his 70s, is in critical condition after being stabbed in the chest, police said.
Cell phone footage showed chaotic scenes from inside the train as the attack unfolded on the Keio line. In the video, passengers can be seen running through a train carriage to get away from the attacker. Loud bangs and screaming can be heard. A ball of flames then erupts, filling the carriage with smoke.
Passengers can then be seen jumping out of the train's windows to escape and running along with a station platform away from the train, which had made an emergency stop.
According to Japan's public broadcaster NHK, the suspect was arrested after brandishing a knife and starting a fire on a moving train around 8 p.m. (7 a.m. ET) near Kokuryo Station in Chofu City, in Tokyo's western suburbs. The train was bound for the busy Shinjuku Station in central Tokyo.
The alleged attacker used cigarette lighter fluid to set a fire inside the train, causing large flames to rise briefly and burning some seats, NHK reported citing police.
The man told investigators that he "wanted to kill people and be given a death penalty" and had hoped to kill at least two people, according to the police. He was arrested at the scene by Tokyo Metropolitan Police on suspicion of attempted murder.
Video tweeted by an eyewitness shows the 24-year-old suspect wearing a purple suit and bright green shirt, along with a purple tie, surrounded by police officers inside a Tokyo train.
A police officer can be heard in the video saying, "the suspect is in custody."
Japan only recently lifted a long-running coronavirus state of emergency, and Tokyo further eased restrictions on bars and restaurants on October 25, local media reported. Halloween would likely have been the first public event in which many young people were free to participate after lengthy pandemic curbs.
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