Threats of copycat crimes posted online after stabbing rampage near Seoul
Seoul, Aug 4 (EFE).- A series of threats to carry out copycat stabbings have been posted online in South Korea following an attack south of Seoul that left at least 14 people wounded.
On Thursday evening, a man rammed a vehicle into pedestrians outside a department store connected to Seohyeon subway station, in Bundang district, Seongnam City, before going on a stabbing rampage inside the store before he was arrested.
Nine people were wounded in the stabbing attack, while five were injured in the car ramming, Yonhap news agency reported Thursday, adding that out of the 14, 12 were seriously injured.
Following the incident, threatening posts circulated online, one of them in which an individual threatened “a stabbing rampage” at Ori station, also in Bundang, between 6-10pm on Friday with the aim to “kill as many people as possible.”
In a second post, another individual shared a photo of a weapon and threatened to stab 20 people at Seohyeon station on Friday, according to Yonhap.
Two other threats of mass stabbings at Jamsil and Hanti stations in the south of Seoul on Friday had been posted online, police said Friday.
Police launched an investigation to hunt down those behind the threats and intensified online surveillance, while squads were dispatched to Ori and Seohyeon subway stations, as well as two others in the area.
Public fears have been mounting as the Seoul area has seen two mass stabbings in less than two weeks, in addition to threats circulating online.
On July 21, in the southeast of the capital, a man stabbed pedestrians on a street, leaving one dead and three injured. EFE
co-emg/tw
