Japanese man attacks passengers on train with knife

A 24-year-old Japanese man dressed as Joker in “Batman” injured 17 people on a train with a knife and by starting a fire. He was quoted by police as saying he had wanted to kill multiple people and receive the death penalty.

According to NHK, a man with short blonde hair in a green shirt and a purple jacket got on the Keio Line train heading to Shinjuku from Chofu around 8 p.m. on Sunday. He got out a knife and stabbed a man in his 70s out of a sudden.

A passenger who witnessed the incident yelled at the others to run, letting them know that there was a guy holding a knife. Passengers fled to adjoining carriages. Some fell in the process. The perpetrator chased after passengers screaming and started a fire with lighter fluid. The man who was stabbed is unconscious in a serious condition and 16 people have been injured with smoke inhalation.

The train made an emergency stop at Kokuryo Station, which it doesn’t normally stop. As the doors didn’t open, passengers escaped through windows. The perpetrator smoked a cigarette with his legs crossed on a train after the incident. He was arrested by the police without much resistance.

“I have been thinking about getting the death penalty since June or July. I wanted to kill people to receive it,” said the man during a police investigation. “I targeted a crowded train as it was Halloween. I thought passengers couldn’t escape as the Keio Line train has a long distance between stations.” According to Nippon TV, the perpetrator said to the police that he “adores” the Joker character from the Batman films and showed no remorse.


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