Man rams pedestrians and stabs shoppers at mall in deadly attack

A man in South Korea rammed a car into a pedestrian before getting out and stabbing multiple people in a shopping mall, killing one and injuring at least a dozen others.

The attack, which occurred at a large department store in the city of Seongnam some 12 miles from the country’s capital, left 13 people injured – nine from stab wounds and four from the vehicular attack. The suspect reportedly used a white Kia hatchback, which had a broken front window and a ruptured front tire following the attack.

Video published by a local newspaper and obtained from an eyewitness appeared to show a man in sunglasses and a black hoodie walking up an escalator in the mall with an object in his hand. 

Police arrested a man, reportedly in his 20s, but any motive remains unclear, the BBC reported. Local media reported that the suspect had a delivery job and suffered from mental health issues. 

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A policeman stands next to a scene where, according to media reports, nine people have been stabbed, and four others hurt by a car driven by the suspected attacker in Seongnam, South Korea, August 3, 2023.       (Yonhap via Reuters)

All of those injured in the attack were taken to a hospital, but a man in his 60s died as a result of his wounds. 

A witness named Hwang Hee-woon 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 second floor near the escalator to see what was happening below.”

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Police officers cordon off the scene near a subway station in Seongnam, South Korea, Thursday, Aug. 3, 2023. A dozen people were injured in South Korea on Thursday when a man rammed a car onto a sidewalk and then stepped out of it and began stabbing people near a subway station in the city of Seongnam. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

“Suddenly, someone told us the person who committed the crime was coming up to the second floor, so we ran away in panic,” he said, adding that he ended up hiding inside a refrigerated storage room with some mall employees.

Authorities have variously referred to the attack as “virtually an act of terrorism” or a “rampage” from an “indiscriminate” attack.  

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Police officers cordon off the scene near a subway station in Seongnam, South Korea, Thursday, Aug. 3, 2023. A dozen people were injured in South Korea on Thursday when a man rammed a car onto a sidewalk and then stepped out of it and began stabbing people near a subway station in the city of Seongnam.  (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

During an emergency meeting between the National Police Agency and regional police chiefs regarding this and similar attacks against random targets, officials discussed increasing nighttime patrols in heavily trafficked areas like leisure districts. 

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Police Commissioner General Yoon Hee-keun warned South Koreans to be on guard for such attacks and urged officials to be vigilant and look out for copycat crimes.

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.