A homeless man in his 50s swung a knife in the subway headed to Jonggak station, causing passengers to evacuate. (Image : Yonhap)
SEOUL, Jan.27 (Korea Bizwire) – A homeless man in his 50s swung a knife in the subway headed to Jonggak station, causing passengers to evacuate.
The police set out to prevent the worst case, and the man was caught near Seoul station after an hour and 20 minutes.
According to the police, the homeless man Kang(51) pulled out a knife from his pocket and swung it in front of the passengers, threatening them.
As passengers moved to the next car to avoid the knife, the subway was in chaos. As a relief, no one was hurt.
Kang boarded the subway at Seoul station. The subway passed city hall and was headed towards Jonggak station when Kang created the disturbance. He got off the subway with the other passengers at Jonggak station.
Passengers who got off at Jonggak station were screaming and running up the stairs. Some fell down and even injured.
Kang confessed that he was frustrated that there were so many people in the subway, and he thought people will be afraid and move away from him if he swung a knife. He also mentioned that the heard voices in his head.
After Kang got off the subway, the police deployed forces near Jonggak station, and tracked Kangs movement watching the CCTV.
The police got a grasp of Kang’s appearance through testimonies of witnesses and the CCTV footage. Kang was caught by the police when they were inspecting an area where homeless people gather. Kang had two knives in his pocket at the time of arrest.
According to the investigation of the police, Kang has been homeless for 20 years, and has been isolated with his family for 30 years.
The police added that they plan to run a psychiatric test on Kang.
By M.H.Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)
