8 Injured in Explosion and Fire Caused by Man Armed With Weapon and Severe Burns

[Anchor]

An explosion and subsequent fire at an apartment management office in Gyeongsan, North Gyeongsang Province, has left eight people, including staff and residents, injured, one of them in critical condition. The fire was started by a resident in his 70s, who was later apprehended by police while wandering around with a weapon.

First, we have a report from TBC's Park Dong-joo.

[Reporter]

It was around 8:30 a.m. today (July 23) when the management office of an apartment complex in Gyeongsan was engulfed in flames.

Startled by a loud banging noise, residents rushed outside.

[Kim Jin-sik / Eyewitness: There was a loud bang, and when I looked out in shock, white smoke was rising. People suddenly screamed, and as they came out, the fire flared up right along with them.]

The person who brought flammable substances and set the fire with a lighter was a 72-year-old resident of the apartment, identified by his surname A.

Although the fire was extinguished in about 20 minutes, seven residents of the same apartment who were inside the management office were injured and are receiving treatment at a hospital.

Among the three people who suffered severe injuries, one is in critical condition.

It was reported that they had discovered earlier that morning that the apartment's CCTV cables had been unplugged and were discussing countermeasures.

[Eyewitness: When I went downstairs in the morning, someone had unplugged all the CCTV cables.]

The suspect, A, was arrested by police responding to a report after wandering around the apartment complex while holding a weapon and shouting immediately after the incident.

He also suffered burns across his entire body and is receiving treatment in the intensive care unit.

[Choi Sang-yeol / Head of Detective Division, Gyeongsan Police Station: The police officers who arrived at the scene saw that the suspect was holding a knife, so they ordered him to drop it using a handgun. He dropped the knife, and we have separately seized it.]

Police plan to book suspect A on charges of arson resulting in injury to an inhabited building and carrying a weapon in a public place, while conducting further investigations depending on his recovery progress.

(Video by Park Jong-young, TBC)

Park Dong-joo, TBC
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.