“Began expressing anger after falling victim to a rental deposit scam 12 years ago” ... Testimony from a friend who had known the Incheon knife-rampage suspect for 30 years

[Financial News] A man in his 50s who injured 10 people by wielding a knife at a commercial facility in Incheon was also previously punished for attacking his ex-wife and a real estate employee with a knife. As details of that history emerged, a friend who had known him for 30 years testified about the background to his violent tendencies.
According to an MBC report on the 15th, B, a friend of 30 years of A, the man in his 50s identified as the Incheon knife-rampage suspect, said, “A began expressing intense anger after falling victim to a rental deposit scam.”
A reportedly had a prior record of being punished for wielding a knife at a real estate employee in 2004. B said, “At the time, A said he would kill the real estate operator who had defrauded him,” adding, “I think his [violent tendencies] began after that incident.”
In 2015, A was sentenced to four years in prison for wielding a knife at his ex-wife because she had rejected his request to get back together. B said, “A felt he had been wronged in the case involving his ex-wife,” and claimed, “He was only trying to stop his ex-wife, who had been drinking with him, from harming herself.”
However, the court at the time ruled that “despite police officers trying to restrain A, including by forcing his arm down, he tried to stab the victim,” and that “because of his multiple prior convictions for violence, problems with alcohol, psychiatric disorders and other factors, there is a risk he will commit murder again.”
B also mentioned A’s problems with taking psychiatric medication. B said, “I heard that his body trembles when he doesn’t take his medication,” adding, “I think that, when A was in prison some time ago, he asked me to pick up his medication and have him admitted to a hospital.”
A was arrested by police on suspicion of injuring 10 people by wielding a knife inside a commercial facility in Guwol-dong, Namdong-gu, Incheon, at around 1:50 p.m. on the 13th.
The victims were six women and four men. The number of victims, initially believed to be eight, rose to nine, and it was later confirmed that a man in his 50s who had left the scene was also among the injured.
A teenage girl who was taken to hospital in cardiac arrest underwent emergency surgery, but reportedly has not yet regained consciousness and remains dependent on a ventilator.
In questioning by police, A said he committed the crime because he thought he needed to create a news story to publicize his dissatisfaction with the hospital where he had received treatment for athlete’s foot.
Police have sought an arrest warrant for A and plan to convene a committee to review whether to disclose his personal information.

[email protected] Seong Min-seo Reporter