“The cries of ‘Help me’ brought the kids on the fourth floor to mind” ... Office worker in his 20s stops knife-wielding rampage suspect by throwing a chair

[Financial News] Eight people were injured in a knife rampage at a large commercial complex in Incheon, and a worker in his 20s is believed to have prevented further harm through his courageous actions.
According to Yonhap News on the 13th, A (59) was subdued by bystanders after wielding a knife at members of the public at random in the C&C (see&see) building, a large commercial complex in Guwol-dong, Namdong-gu, Incheon, at around 1:40 p.m. that day.
Eight visitors were injured in the incident. One of them, a woman in her 20s, was taken to the hospital in cardiac arrest and underwent emergency surgery, but reportedly has yet to regain consciousness. A had served four years in prison for attempted murder and was reportedly wearing an electronic tracking device (ankle monitor) at the time of the crime.
The building houses a large supermarket and a movie theater and draws large crowds. Office worker Shin Jung-hyeon, 23, reportedly played a key role in preventing further harm through his response.
Shin said that while heading to CGV on the building’s fourth floor with his girlfriend to watch a movie that day, he heard a loud noise and went closer, where he heard screams and shouts of “Help me” and “Run.” He saw A, knife in hand, climbing up the down escalator toward the fourth floor.
Shin’s girlfriend yelled at him to run, and Shin instinctively tried to get away, but he said that in that brief moment he thought about how many of the people who had come to see a movie were young children and women. Judging that A’s entry onto the fourth floor could lead to serious harm, Shin turned around, picked up a nearby backless chair, and headed toward the railing of the escalator A was climbing.
Shin hurled the chair at A with all his strength as A was nearing the fourth floor. A fell where he stood, apparently unconscious, and could not get back up, Shin said. A was carried down toward the third floor on the down escalator, and Shin shouted to people on the floor below to grab him.
Bystanders joined forces to subdue A, including pinning him down with a chair, and police who arrived at the scene arrested him.
Shin told Yonhap News, “I later saw on the news that this man had been going around stabbing everyone he saw. If he had made it to the fourth floor, we wouldn’t have been safe either.” He added, “There were so many kids, but I acted because I wanted to survive,” and, “I’m glad we were able to prevent greater harm.”
Police plan to investigate A about the motive for the crime and other matters before seeking a warrant for his arrest.
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