Chinese-Korean Man in His 40s Arrested for Weapon Attack at Dongtan Lake Park in Early Morning

Suspect Apprehended Within 30 Minutes of Police Search After Attempted Escape

A man in his 40s, a Chinese-Korean, was apprehended by the police after wielding a weapon and threatening citizens in the early morning hours at Dongtan Lake Park in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province.

On the 19th, the Hwaseong Dongtan Police Station announced that they had urgently arrested and were investigating a Chinese-Korean man in his 40s, referred to as A, on charges of public intimidation. A is accused of rushing at and threatening five men and women in their 20s with a weapon at around 4:03 a.m. that day, while they were drinking on the deck of a bar in the waterfront commercial area of Dongtan Lake Park in Dongtan 2 New Town, Hwaseong.

Scenery of Dongtan Lake Park. Hwaseong City

According to the police, the victims scattered and ran away when A charged at them with a weapon. A then targeted one of the men in the group, referred to as B. B reportedly fled into the bar to escape A and held the door shut to prevent him from entering.

When A was unable to open the door, he chased after another member of B's group. When that also failed, he fled the scene on a kickboard. Upon receiving the report, the police issued a 'CODE 0' alert (the highest level of emergency in police protocol) and launched an operation to apprehend A. Hwaseong Dongtan Police Station mobilized dozens of available personnel, including local patrol officers from police precincts and substations, as well as detectives and investigators from the criminal and women and youth divisions, to search the Dongtan Lake Park area.

About 30 minutes later, at around 4:39 a.m., the police found A and succeeded in urgently arresting him. It was reported that A attempted to flee on a kickboard when a local police officer tried to stop him, but he was blocked and knocked down by a nearby detective and immediately apprehended. At the time of arrest, A was found to be carrying three weapons.

According to the police, A is a legal resident, but his occupation has not been confirmed. It was also confirmed that he had no prior acquaintance with the victims. A police official stated, "This incident could have escalated into a much more serious crime, such as a random stabbing targeting an unspecified number of people," and added, "The swift apprehension operation prevented further harm."

The police are currently taking statements from the victims and have secured CCTV footage to investigate the details of the incident. Once the investigation is complete, the police plan to change A's charge to attempted murder and request an arrest warrant.