Police Investigate Circumstances After Arrest
Some Pedestrians Injured by Weapon Attack
A man in his 20s was apprehended by police after wandering the streets of Bongcheon-dong, Gwanak-gu, Seoul, and attacking a citizen with a weapon, causing injury. The Gwanak Police Station in Seoul announced on May 6 that they had arrested a man in his 20s, identified as Mr. A, at the scene on charges of aggravated assault and causing bodily harm.
According to the police, at around 10:20 a.m. that day, Mr. A is suspected of injuring citizens by wielding scissors and a ballpoint pen at a bus stop and a restaurant in Bongcheon-dong, Gwanak-gu, Seoul. Five pedestrians were injured as a result of Mr. A's actions, with three of them currently receiving treatment at a hospital.
Immediately after the incident, Mr. A reportedly fled the scene naked after removing his clothes, but was apprehended by police. However, no signs of alcohol or drug use were found in Mr. A. The police plan to investigate Mr. A to determine the specific motive for the crime and will consider requesting an arrest warrant after the investigation.
According to crime statistics from the National Police Agency, among the five major violent crimes?murder, rape, robbery, theft, and assault?the number of cases in which a knife was used as a weapon increased from 6,549 in 2011 to 7,900 in 2021, an increase of 1,351 cases (20.6%) over ten years.
After a sharp rise to 8,446 cases in 2015, the number dropped to 7,228 cases in 2017, but has since been increasing again. During the same period, the total number of the five major violent crimes decreased by about 15%, from 383,628 to 325,166 cases, but the proportion of incidents involving a knife rose from 1.7% to 2.4%.
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