Source: Global Times
On the evening of October 31, Halloween Night, also the night of the opening of the House of Representatives election in Japan, an indiscriminate murder occurred on the Keio Line tram in Tokyo, Japan, and a man dressed as the villain "Joker" in "Batman" suddenly slashed passengers in the carriage and set fire to the car. A total of 17 people were injured in the incident, including an elderly man who was severely stabbed and is still unconscious. The assailant was arrested by the police on the spot and claimed that he was sentenced to death after "wanting to kill someone". This is the second random killing of trams in Japan in 3 months, and the Japanese people are generally worried that similar incidents will happen again, and some public opinion says that they dare not take the tram, and Japan's safety myth has been shattered.
A fire in a subway car Source: KyodoSha
According to a report on the NHK website of Japan on the 1st, the criminal suspect Kenta Hattori wore a purple suit and green shirt on the night of the crime on the Keio Line train, because it was Halloween, so his appearance did not attract the attention of other passengers. At about 8 o'clock that night, Hattori Kyota held a sharp blade of 30 centimeters and stabbed a 72-year-old man who was also in the No. 3 car, the old man was stabbed in the chest and fell unconscious on the spot, and then he immediately went to the No. 5 car, poured lighter oil and set fire, and immediately after the fire, black smoke drifted out, and many passengers saw black smoke and fire and immediately fled to other carriages, and the scene was chaotic. Part of the floor and seats in the carriage were burned down, and 16 male and female passengers aged 10-60 were injured to varying degrees by being splashed with lighter oil or inhaling smoke.
Kyota Hattori (left)
According to the report, there were passengers in the carriage who pressed the emergency contact button, but according to the conductor, because the carriage was too chaotic and noisy, it was impossible to grasp the actual situation through microphone dialogue. After this emergency occurred, according to the driving rules, the train stopped urgently at the nearest station, the National Collar Station, and at the same time, the passengers themselves pulled down the emergency stop handle, thus causing the train to slow down, and after entering the National Collar Station platform, it stopped about two or three meters from the original parking position, so that the door could not be accurately opened at the exit of the platform. Because the windows of the train can be opened, many passengers climb through the platform gates after opening the windows to escape the carriage (pictured left). Live videos uploaded by netizens showed panicked passengers fleeing the train cars, and masks, umbrellas, shoes and other items were scattered on the ground, screaming and screaming.
After the incident, many passengers had palpitations. Japan's "Mainichi Shimbun" interviewed several people who experienced the case on the 1st, and a 21-year-old woman still recalled with some trepidation, "I heard a sound like an explosion in the carriage at that time, and then many people shouted 'Run!' I didn't know what was happening, so I quickly fled with everyone to the other carriages. A 24-year-old male office worker said, "In the process of escaping, I looked back and saw three or four people lying on the ground." There was flame and black smoke in the carriage, and there was a gas-like smell. ”
Kyota Hattori did not flee the scene after committing the crime, but calmly waited in place for the police to arrest him. Witnesses photographed Kyota Hattori sitting leisurely in the carriage smoking a cigarette (pictured right), smiling eerily from time to time, which made people shudder. Kyota Hattori was arrested on suspicion of attempted homicide. Police identified him as a 24-year-old unemployed man who confessed to the crime.
According to police, Kyota Hattori was born in Fukuoka City and resigned in June this year due to a dispute with the company. After leaving Fukuoka City, he traveled between Kobe City and Nagoya City, and came to Tokyo a month ago, staying in a hotel in Hachioji City, where he basically did nothing every day. Kyodo News Agency reported that Kyota Hattori had no remorse when she was questioned and investigated by the police: "Everything is in my plan, and it is a pity that no one was killed!" Regarding the motive, he said, "Because of the failure at work, the relationship with friends has also broken." Since June this year, I have wanted to kill people. He claimed it was originally planned to kill at least two people to fulfill "the desire to be sentenced to death."
Kyota Hattori also said that she liked the role of "clown", "because this character can kill people calmly and without scruples", so she deliberately dressed up as a "clown" that night to commit crimes.
October 31 was the election day of The House of Representatives of Japan, and the news of the election on television overwhelmed the murder. There were no more detailed reports until November 1. The Japanese people are talking about this matter. Some say that travel is becoming increasingly unsafe and that it is necessary to carry self-defense equipment. It is also said that since the outbreak of the epidemic, many people have lost their jobs or their incomes have dropped significantly, and the hardships of life have led to dissatisfaction with society, and some extreme people want to vent their anger and hurt innocent strangers. According to statistics from the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, Halloween is a festival with a high incidence of crime, because perpetrators can use the cover effect of strange costumes and people's guard to lax in the festive atmosphere. On the 1st, Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiroichi Matsuno promised at a press conference that he would urge the traffic department and police units to improve their security vigilance to prevent the recurrence of such an "extremely vicious and vicious incident".