During Halloween, it’s common to see many people dress up as fictional characters to celebrate the day with their family and friends.
Unfortunately, for passengers who took a train in Tokyo, Japan, on 31 Oct evening, their Halloween experience turned into a real-life horror after a man in a Joker costume assaulted passengers.
A total of 17 passengers suffered injuries in the attack. Police have since arrested the man for attempted murder.
Many emergency vehicles could be seen outside the station, where most train services had to be partially suspended.
On Sunday (31 Oct), a man dressed in a Joker costume from Batman attacked commuters on the Keiō express line bound for Shinjuku.
The man was identified as a 24-year-old named Kyota Hattori.
According to The Japan News, a senior officer from the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, 72, said Hattori sprayed pesticide into his eyes first.
He was then stabbed in the chest with a 30cm-long knife. The senior officer is currently in critical condition as the blade pierced his lung.
After attacking the senior officer, the 24-year-old moved into another cabin to pour liquid from a bottle onto the cabin floor and started a fire.
It resulted in 16 passengers, comprising teenagers, adults and senior citizens, sustaining minor injuries due to smoke inhalation.
The video clip uploaded on Twitter showed the chaos within the train – passengers running from the cabin Hattori had set on fire.
A few seconds later, a small explosion occurred, setting the cabin ablaze.
A separate clip showed people desperately climbing out of the train’s windows to escape.
The line operator said services were partially suspended after the attacks. Firefighters, police officers and emergency vehicles could be seen at the scene of the crime.
One witness told Japanese daily Yomiuri Shimbun he thought it was a Halloween stunt at first. He saw Hattori walking in his direction while slowly waving a long, bloody knife.
Another lady said Hattori remained emotionless while carrying out the act, reported The Straits Times (ST).
Since then, many videos about the incident circulated on Twitter. One video showed Hattori calmly smoking in the cabin with his legs crossed.
He wore Joker’s iconic purple suit with a green shirt.
The Joke is a supervillain in DC Comics, best known for being Batman’s arch-nemesis and a notorious psychopath who commits crimes.
Hattori was later seen being surrounded by several police officers who arrested and escorted him out.
According to The Japan News, a senior official said Hattori was inspired by a similar crime in August on the Odakyu Line.
Hattori admitted he committed the crime to get the death penalty as he no longer had the will to live. He had messed up at work in June and was not getting along well with friends.
On Monday (1 Nov), top government spokesman Hirokazu Matsuno called Hattori’s crime “atrocious and brutal”, reported Channel NewsAsia (CNA).
While it is unfortunate that Hattori was not doing well in his work and personal life, it is no excuse for him to commit such heinous crimes.
Hopefully, the passengers on the train when the incident happened will recover from their injuries and trauma.
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Featured image adapted from takahashi9811 on Twitter and FPresencia on Twitter.
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