A man dressed in costumes of the Joker character, the villain of the Batman series, attacked passengers with a knife and flammable liquid on a train line in Tokyo, Japan, on Sunday night (31), local time, leaving at least 15 injured.
The attack took place on the Keio express line bound for Shinjuku, considered the busiest train station in the world, around 8:00 pm (8:00 am in BrasÃlia), when many people were heading downtown for Halloween parties.
Police arrested the 24-year-old assailant, who had also spread fluid across the train that started a fire, according to local media. A 60-year-old man was seriously injured after being stabbed.
Public broadcaster NHK reported that 17 people were injured. Kyodo news agency reported 15 injuries. A video posted on Twitter and broadcast by the NHK broadcaster showed people fleeing the car where the attack took place. Another record showed passengers squeezing out the windows of the train, which made an emergency stop at a platform.
“I thought it was a Halloween prank,” a witness told the Yomiuri newspaper, recalling the moment he saw passengers running in panic towards his car. “Then I saw a man walking this way, slowly waving a long knife.” He said there was blood on the utensil.
According to a passenger, the aggressor showed no emotion during the attack. “I think this caused a lot of fear in everyone,” he told the AFP news agency.
Line service was partially suspended as Japanese voters went to the polls for the country’s general elections.
TV footage showed dozens of firefighters, police and emergency vehicles outside the station.
Violent crime cases are rare in Japan, where gun legislation is extremely strict. In August, however, two more attacks were carried out on public transport in Tokyo.
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