A Chinese expatriate in his 40s was arrested by police after going on a stabbing spree targeting citizens at Dongtan Lake Park in Hwaseong at dawn. The victims, who were drinking at a nearby shop, fled immediately, and no injuries were reported.
According to police on the 19th, the Hwaseong Dongtan Police Station has urgently detained an individual identified as A on charges of public intimidation and is currently investigating.
A is accused of threatening five men and women in their 20s who were drinking on a deck of a bar at Dongtan Lake Park in Dongtan 2 New Town around 4:03 a.m. by rushing at them with a weapon.
The victims reportedly scattered when A came running at them brandishing a weapon, and A targeted a man identified as B among them. B is said to have entered the bar to avoid A and held onto the entrance door. When A could not open the door, the two briefly confronted each other before A chased another companion of B. Finding the situation unfavorable, A escaped on a kickboard.
Upon receiving a report, the police issued a 'Code Zero' (CODE 0·the highest emergency level in the manual) and initiated operations to apprehend A.
The Hwaseong Dongtan Police mobilized dozens of available personnel, including local police officers from districts and police substations, as well as detectives and investigators from the criminal and juvenile affairs division, to search the area around Dongtan Lake Park.
About 30 minutes later, at approximately 4:39 a.m., police discovered A and urgently apprehended him. A fell while fleeing on a kickboard after being blocked by a nearby detective when he attempted to evade a local police officer's request for a stop.
At the time of his arrest, A was in possession of three weapons. A was too intoxicated to be questioned. Police reported that A is a legal resident, but his occupation has not been confirmed, and added that he had no prior acquaintance with the victims.
Police are obtaining statements from the victims and have secured CCTV footage to investigate the details of the incident. Once the investigation concludes, police plan to change A's charges to attempted murder and apply for an arrest warrant.