[Exclusive] “It’s a sea of blood,” “A knife was tied to his hand” ... Seven tense minutes of the Incheon knife rampage

[Financial News] The urgent 112 calls that members of the public made to police during a knife rampage at a large commercial complex in Incheon have come to light. Reports conveyed specific details from the scene, including that the suspect was walking around with a knife tied to his hand, as well as reports of victims and the suspect’s movements.
According to a transcript of 112 calls made during the Incheon knife rampage, which Financial News obtained on the 21st from the Incheon Metropolitan Police Agency through the office of Kang Myeong-gu, a People Power Party lawmaker on the National Assembly’s Public Administration and Security Committee, a total of 19 items—including 112 calls and requests for a joint response from the fire department—were recorded between 1:49 p.m. and 1:55 p.m. during the incident in Guwol-dong, Namdong-gu, Incheon, on the 13th.
The first call, received at 1:49 p.m., included statements such as, “There’s been a stabbing,” “He’s just walking around and swinging [a knife],” “It’s a sea of blood,” and “Please come quickly.” The caller also described how the suspect was carrying the weapon, saying, “He has a knife tied to his hand.” The same call log also included reports that the suspect was taking an escalator up to the third floor and was on the fourth floor, as well as that members of the public had caught the suspect on the third floor and a police officer had arrived.
Some calls were made from close to the suspect. Another call received around the same time included the statements, “He’s right in front of me” and “The person with the knife is in front of the caller.” The caller said the suspect appeared to have continued walking around before going up to the third floor.
Calls also came in from the area around the cinema and the supermarket’s restaurants. At 1:49 p.m., a report was received that a man in his 50s wearing hiking clothes was carrying two weapons on the second floor of the building that houses the cinema. Other callers described the suspect as wearing a blue jacket and a black hat and carrying a bag, among other things. At 1:50 p.m., a caller reported that the suspect had moved toward the restroom in the supermarket building’s second-floor restaurant area and disappeared from view. Reports also said members of the public were chasing the suspect to subdue him.
Calls reporting injuries also came in one after another. At 1:49 p.m., separate calls reported that “there are people who have been stabbed on the second and third floors,” that “it looks like several people have been stabbed,” and that “one person is injured and bleeding.” At 1:50 p.m., a report came in that a restaurant employee had been stabbed. Requests for a joint response from the fire department at 1:51 p.m. separately recorded that someone had been stabbed in the back on the second floor of the building with the cinema and that two people had been injured on the third floor. The records also said that the suspect had put down the weapon.
At 1:52 p.m., a call came in saying, “A man is walking around with a kitchen knife, and it looks like someone has been stabbed.” The caller reported that a woman appeared to have been stabbed in the abdomen on the second floor. Another caller reported that they had taken refuge on the first floor and that the suspect was stabbing people with a weapon and walking around the restaurant area.
At 1:53 p.m., alongside a record that a dispatch had been received, a report came in that a person carrying a weapon was in the third-floor parking lot. At 1:54 p.m., a report said the suspect was hiding in a rental car company inside the building. Two calls at around the same time asked responders to come to the fourth floor in connection with the knife rampage. At 1:55 p.m., a call reported an injured person in front of the customer service center on the supermarket’s basement level 2, and callers were told that 119 emergency services and police officers were on their way.
The incident occurred at around 1:48 p.m. on the 13th at a large commercial complex in Guwol-dong, Namdong-gu, Incheon. Choi Chung-rak, 59, is suspected of injuring eight strangers while a weapon was fastened to both his hands. One of them, a 19-year-old woman, was taken to hospital in cardiac arrest and underwent surgery. Choi was subdued by members of the public at the scene and arrested by police.
Choi Chung-rak had previously served time in prison for attempting to kill his former wife and was reportedly wearing an electronic tracking device (ankle monitor) at the time of the crime. Police have detained him and are investigating him on suspicion of attempted murder and carrying a weapon in a public place.

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