"Bound Weapons to Both Hands During Crime"... Has Prior "Attempted Murder" Record

[Anchor]

This man wrapped and firmly fixed weapons to his hands beforehand and swung them indiscriminately at anyone. Citizens who mustered the courage worked together to subdue him, and upon being caught, it was revealed that he was a Ministry of Justice electronic monitoring subject wearing an electronic anklet due to a conviction for attempted murder.

This is reporter An Huijae.

[Reporter]

A man surnamed Choi rampaged through a large multi-use commercial complex, carrying out a random weapon rampage.

It was found that he committed the crimes while moving up and down via escalators, starting from the basement level where a large supermarket is located.

Victims emerged one after another in various places, with six people injured on the second floor alone, including a person in their 20s in cardiac arrest.

The peaceful daytime downtown shopping center instantly turned into chaos.

[Audio recording from the scene at the time: Casualties, casualties! Someone is stabbing with a weapon right now! They say he has a weapon, run away!]

Witnesses reported that weapons were bound to both of the tightly tight-lipped Choi's hands as if to ensure they would not be dropped.

[Witness: They said the weapons were bound to both hands with bandages. Because they were tied up, you couldn't make him drop the weapon by hitting it like this....]

Amidst extreme fear, citizens mustered their courage and worked together.

[Kang Byung-hoon / Witness: I was wondering what was going on when suddenly some middle-aged man was standing there holding a weapon from behind. Everyone told each other to pick up chairs, so we all picked up chairs and blocked him, and he ran away.]

They directly subdued Choi and handed him over to the police.

It was found that Choi, who served a four-year prison sentence for attempted murder after swinging a weapon at his ex-wife in 2015, had been wearing an electronic anklet since his release from prison in 2019.

It was found that yesterday morning (October 13), Choi underwent expert counseling and a probation officer interview, and even had a meal with a probation officer up until one hour before the crime.

The Ministry of Justice stated that it apologizes for causing great concern to the public and that it will thoroughly investigate the overall management and supervision of electronic anklets to come up with recurrence prevention measures.

Acting National Police Commissioner General Kim Jong-chul emphasized strict investigation and support for victims, and ordered an all-out response to the act of carrying weapons in public places.

(Video by Lim Dong-guk | Video Editing by Park Ji-in, Graphics by Kim Han-gil and Jang Sung-bum)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.