No fewer than 17 passengers were stabbed on a Tokyo train line by a man dressed in Batman’s Joker costume.
Gatekeepers News reports that the incident happened on Sunday as party-goers headed into the city centre for Halloween gatherings.
NHK public television said the suspect, 24, after stabbing passengers, poured a liquid that looks like oil and set a fire.
“I thought it was a Halloween stunt,” one witness told the Yomiuri newspaper, recalling the moment he saw other passengers running in a panic towards his train car. “Then, I saw a man walking this way, slowly waving a long knife.”
“There was blood on the weapon,” he said.
The attacker was arrested on the spot and was being investigated on suspicion of attempted murder. His motive was not immediately known.
It was gathered that a man believed to be in his 60s was unconscious and in critical condition after being stabbed.
Tokyo police officials confirmed that the attack happened inside the Keio train near the Kokuryo station.
The suspect, according to reports, told authorities he “wanted to kill people so he could be sentenced to death”.
