A man in his 20s who brandished a weapon at teenage students he did not know in the middle of downtown Gwangju was taken into custody by police. The man reportedly said he committed a so-called "indiscriminate attack" after attempting to make an extreme choice.
Gwangju Gwangsan Police Station said on the 6th that it urgently arrested and is investigating a 24-year-old man, identified only as A, on suspicion of murder and attempted murder.
According to police, around 12:11 a.m. on the 5th, A is suspected of fatally stabbing a high school student, identified as Ms. B, with a weapon on a sidewalk near Nambu University in Wolgye-dong, Gwangsan-gu, Gwangju, as she was heading home, then swinging the weapon at another high school student, identified as Mr. C, injuring him.
Mr. C reportedly heard Ms. B—whom he did not know—scream "Help me," crossed the road to approach, and was then attacked. Mr. C was taken to a hospital for surgery and is not in life-threatening condition.
A fled immediately after the crime but was urgently arrested by police at about 11:24 a.m. the same day, roughly 11 hours after the incident.
In police questioning, A reportedly said he committed the crime after seeing a stranger pass by. He also was found to have claimed he decided to commit the crime while contemplating an extreme choice because life was not enjoyable.
Police are investigating the case as a so-called "indiscriminate crime," noting there was no acquaintance between the victims and A. A was not intoxicated at the time of the crime, and no prior psychiatric treatment record or previous criminal reports or convictions have been identified so far.
Police plan to seek an arrest warrant for A.