Man dressed as Joker terrorises Tokyo train (updated)

Keio

31/10/2021 13:45

(Recasts throughout with new information)
    TOKYO, Oct 31 (Reuters) - A 24-year-old man dressed in
Batman's Joker costume attacked passengers on a Tokyo train line
on Sunday evening, injuring about 10 people as many party-goers
headed into the city centre for Halloween gatherings, media
reported.
    Police arrested the suspected attacker on the spot, media
reported. A man in his 60s was unconscious and in critical
condition after being stabbed, while witnesses also said the
attacker had spread fluid around the train and started a fire,
according to media. 
    One video uploaded on Twitter and broadcast on NHK showed a
steady stream of people running away from a train car where,
seconds later, a small explosion caused a fire. Another video
showed passengers rushing to squeeze out of the train's windows
and onto the platform where the train had made an emergency
stop.
    "I thought it was a Halloween stunt," one witness told the
Yomiuri newspaper, recalling the moment he saw other passengers
running in a panic towards his train car. "Then, I saw a man
walking this way, slowly waving a long knife." He said there was
blood on the knife.
    The attack occurred on the Keio express line bound for
Shinjuku, the world's busiest rail station, at around 8 p.m.
(1100 GMT), media said.
    Partial service on the Keio line remained suspended late on
Sunday, when Japanese voters went to the polls https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/japan-votes-test-new-pm-kishida-political-stability-2021-10-30
 in a lower house election. TV footage showed scores of
firefighters, police and emergency vehicles outside the station
where the train had stopped.

 (Reporting by Kantaro Komiya, Elaine Lies, Mari Saito; Writing
by Chang-Ran Kim, Editing by David Dolan and Giles Elgood)
 ((ran.kim@thomsonreuters.com; +81-3-4520-1228;))