Daejeon [South Korea], August 4 : Police in South Korea on Friday arrested a man accused of stabbing a high school teacher in the city of Daejeon, the country’s second apparently random knife attack in two days, reported Al Jazeera.
Officials from the Daejeon Metropolitan Police Agency withheld the suspect's identity at first, merely identifying him as a man in his late 20s.
The fact that the suspect allegedly waited for the instructor to exit a Songchon High School classroom before stabbing him and fleeing the scene shows that the two men may have known each other.
The teacher's health status was not specified by the police or fire department authorities.
The incident comes after a different assault on Thursday in which a man drove a car onto a pedestrian walkway and started stabbing at a departmental store in Seongnam hurting a total of 14 people on Thursday in south of Seoul, reported Yonhap News Agency citing police officials.
According to the officials, the attacker stabbed nine people, out of which eight of them are in critical condition. Before stabbing, the attacker hit five people with his car, out of which, two of them are severely injured, Yonhap News Agency reported.
However, just five minutes after receiving the report at 5:59 pm, the police arrested nearly 20 suspects, who are only known by their surname Choi.
The suspect works in the delivery industry, the sources said.
The victims lie in the age group of 20s to 70s, reported Yonhap News Agency.
The suspect repeated incomprehensible statements to the police. He said 'an unknown group' attempted to murder him with a hitman.
Choi tested negative in a rapid drug test and was found not to be under the influence of alcohol. But, the police will send their hair samples to the National Forensic Service to investigate the crime by carrying out detailed tests and checking his mental health records.
The witnesses present at the scene reported that the suspect wore a black outfit and sunglasses and brandished a knife which is estimated to be around 50 to 60 centimetres long.
Adding to that, they said that the suspect entered the department store after his car did not move.
Some of the witnesses claimed that there were more than one offender and the police confirmed that there were no accomplices, Yonhap News Agency reported.
Meanwhile, South Korea's police chief called the accident an 'act of terror' and said that the patrols will be increased in the crowded areas and strengthen surveillance through security cameras.
National Police Agency Commissioner General Yoon Hee-keun said, "There are concerns over copycat crimes due to a series of accidents, with people expressing fears of coming out onto the street."
In South Korea, where gun ownership is strictly regulated, attacks with weapons are uncommon, but there are no significant limitations on the use of knives, particularly kitchen knives, which are frequently used in attacks, Al Jazeera reported.
Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor