According to Kyunghyang Shinmun and others, a man in his 50s wearing an electronic ankle monitor attacked people with knives in a large mixed-use building in Guwol-dong, Namdong District, Incheon, on the afternoon of Oct. 13. He was arrested at the scene; guilt is for the courts, and the government says it will re-examine the monitoring system.
Kyunghyang Shinmun reported that the attack began around 1:40 p.m. on Oct. 13 in a mixed-use building housing a hypermarket and a cinema; Seoul Shinmun put the time at about 1:49 p.m. Police arrested a 59-year-old man, identified only as A, on suspicion of attempted murder and other charges. He is a suspect, and guilt can only be determined at trial.
광고 문의 · 300×250What happened and how many were hurt
Per Kyunghyang Shinmun, A first attacked a woman in her 40s on the basement-level supermarket floor, then moved to the second-floor food court and parking area, where six more people were hurt. Staff and citizens blocked his way with chairs, and he fled toward the third-floor cinema, where a woman in her 50s was stabbed on an escalator. Seoul Shinmun said three men subdued him on the third floor.
The toll varied by source. The Justice Ministry cited eight injured, while Kyunghyang and Seoul Shinmun, citing police, said nine people were affected; Seoul Shinmun added that one of them had only torn clothing and was not hurt. A woman in her 20s reportedly went into cardiac arrest and regained breathing after emergency surgery, but her current condition has not been confirmed.
Police found several knives, a blunt object and a large quantity of what appeared to be drugs in his bag. Seoul Shinmun said he had knives bound to his hands; Kyunghyang quoted a food-court owner as saying there were more than ten blades in the bag. Some reports say he told investigators he had taken drugs, but the substance awaits lab analysis and is unconfirmed. Police see a possible random attack on strangers and plan to seek an arrest warrant on Oct. 14.
The electronic monitoring debate
Kyunghyang and Seoul Shinmun report that A had served four years for attempted murder and was released under a court order to wear a monitor for 10 years, through Feb. 23, 2029. The Justice Ministry said he was prosecuted in 2021 for breaking his night-time curfew and fined 3 million won in 2022. Other reports say he was booked earlier this month for carrying a knife during a solo protest outside a hospital.
The central question is why a working device and apparent compliance did not stop the attack. The ministry said there was no tampering or attempted tampering and no violation tied to this case, and that on the day A had addiction counseling, a meeting with his probation officer and a medication check. President Lee Jae-myung reportedly visited the Incheon police agency and ordered special measures against violent crime and a review of monitoring. A visit by the acting police chief and an order to step up patrols could not be found in the reports we checked and remain unconfirmed.
