Woman dies after recent mass attack in South Korea that left 14 wounded
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A man drove his car into pedestrians before going on a stabbing spree in Seongnam metro station on Aug 3.
PHOTO: EPA-EFE
SEOUL – A victim from Thursday’s car rampage and stabbing in South Korea was declared dead early on Sunday morning, according to officials, the first fatality in the attack which had injured 14 people and unsettled a nation where mass violence is uncommon.
The woman in her 60s was declared dead at 2am local time, according to the Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police.
She had been hospitalised for her injuries after being hit by the car.
The suspect is a 23-year-old male delivery worker who has been identified only by his surname, Choi.
He drove onto a pavement near a metro station in Seongnam, a city near Seoul.
After hitting five pedestrians with his car, he went into the metro station and stabbed nine people before being apprehended and charged with attempted murder. That charge has now been updated to murder.
The police have not announced a motive behind Choi’s actions.
After arresting Choi on Thursday, the police gave him a drug test, which came back negative.
Choi, a high school dropout, had been diagnosed with schizoid personality disorder, according to the authorities.
Thursday’s attack, which the authorities have said is being treated as an “act of terror”, comes shortly after another stabbing incident in July in Seoul that killed one and injured three.
The seemingly random nature of the attacks has spread fear, which the police have sought to tamp down by dispatching more officers to public areas and posting warning messages through official channels.
As at Sunday, dozens of people had been arrested in connection with posting online threats of copycat attacks that specified times, locations and number of targets.
At least one person was arrested after he was observed carrying knives in public. NYTIMES