Man rams car onto sidewalk in South Korea and stabs people; at least 14 injured

A man rammed a car onto a sidewalk on Thursday in South Korea then stepped out of the vehicle and began stabbing people at a shopping mall Authorities said at least 14 people were wounded in the countrys second mass stabbing in a monthAt least five people were hurt by the car and nine others were stabbed in the attacks that occurred in a crowded leisure district near a subway station in the city of Seongnam according to Yoon Sunghyun an official from the southern Gyeonggi provincial police departmentAuthorities arrested a 22yearold suspect at the scene and were questioning him Police did not identify the man or offer any immediate information about a potential motiveAccording to Park Gyeongwon an official at Gyeonggis Bundang district police station the suspect during police interviews talked incoherently and said he was being stalked by an unspecified source The suspects family told police he had a history of mental illnessWhile the suspect had purchased the two knives he used in the stabbings from a different shopping mall on Wednesday there is no clear evidence that he planned the attacks in advance Park saidSouth Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol on Friday called for closer monitoring of social media to detect threats deploying more law enforcement officers for prevention and equipping them with better suppression gear according to Seouls presidential officeAn official at Gyeonggis provincial fire department Ha Donggeun said at least two of those who were wounded after the suspect drove the car onto the sidewalk were hospitalised in critical condition Among the nine who were stabbed eight were being treated for injuries seen as seriousPhotos from the scene showed forensic units examining the halls of the AK Plaza where the stabbings took place A white Kia hatchback with a broken front window and ruptured front tire could be seen on a sidewalk near the subway stationSouth Koreas Kyunghyang Shinmun newspaper published a video on its website that it said was sent by a witness The footage showed a man wearing sunglasses and a black hoodie walking up the malls escalator with an object in his handA witness named Hwang Heewoon told YTN television that he heard a sound from the first floor that seemed like a scream so customers and shop workers were gathering on the rails of the secondfloor near the escalator to see what was happening belowSuddenly someone told us the person who committed the crime was coming up to the second floor so we ran away in panic he said He ended up hiding inside a refrigerated storage room with some mall employeesLast month a knifewielding man stabbed at least four pedestrians on a street in the capital Seoul killing one personThe National Police Agency held an online meeting on Thursday with regional police chiefs to discuss ways to deal with stabbings and other attacks against random targets Officials discussed increasing nighttime patrols in leisure districts and other crowded areas and strengthening security camera surveillance according to the agencyThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever