Police seek arrest warrant for high school student who injured 6 people with a knife

The high school student who carried out a knife attack at a high school in Cheongju, North Chungcheong on Monday told police that he “wanted to harm someone and then die,” according to police on Tuesday.

Police restrict access to a high school in Cheongju, North Chungcheong after a knife-wielding student injured six at the school on April 28. [JOONGANG ILBO]

The high school student who carried out a knife attack at a high school in Cheongju, North Chungcheong on Monday told police that he “wanted to harm someone and then die,” according to police on Tuesday.

The 18-year-old student stated during questioning that he committed the attack after suffering stress related to adjusting to school life, according to Cheongju Heungdeok Police Precinct on Tuesday. The knife-wielding student injured six people at the school, including faculty members and members of the general public, the previous day.

“The student said he transferred from a special education class to a regular class this year aiming for college admission, but his studies did not go as planned,” said a police official. “He seemed to have expressed his accumulated frustration through an act of violence, facing difficulties adapting to the regular class and worrying about his family's financial situation.”

Police believe the student made up his mind to commit the crime on Sunday afternoon.

The official explained that the student stated, “The day before the attack, he thought, ‘I’m annoyed, I should harm someone, and then I should die,’” and added, “he confirmed that he packed a knife he had at home into his bag and brought it to school on the day of the attack.”

Previously a special education student, the student who committed the knife attack had been attending special classes until last year but was placed in a regular class this year at the request of him and his family. The school he attended operates two special education classrooms for 13 students.

Police and investigators are seen at a high school in Cheongju, North Chungcheong after a student wielded a knife, injuring six, at the school on April 28. [JOONGANG ILBO]

“Since February, the student was a 'fully integrated special education student,' attending classes in the same classroom and under the same conditions as other students,” said an official from the Chungbuk Provincial Office of Education. “The difference is that he received special after-school education or therapy support services.”

Police secured the student’s cell phone, which he dropped while fleeing, and reviewed call logs and messages but found no records directly related to the crime. They plan to examine his home computer for any evidence related to the incident.

Police questioned the student’s homeroom and counseling teachers, who testified that “there were no known conflicts with peers or cases of bullying, and the student did not exhibit violent tendencies.”

However, the police noted that “although the student had not been diagnosed with an impulse control disorder, he seemed to have a tendency to 'explode' with anger.”

Police are seen at a high school in Cheongju, North Chungcheong after a student wielded a knife, injuring six, at the school on April 28. [JOONGANG ILBO]

The student is being investigated on suspicion of attempted murder after wielding a knife around 8:30 a.m. on Monday during a counseling session in a special education classroom on the first floor.

After strangling the counseling teacher, he exited the classroom and stabbed the school's principal, 60, a janitor, 54, and an administrative officer, 40, in the chest and abdomen.

After fleeing the school, the student also injured two pedestrians he encountered on the street. A resident and parent of children at a nearby kindergarten, Im, 43, was stabbed in the face, and another surnamed Kim, 34, suffered a head injury after being pushed by the student during his escape.

A 43-year-old parent surnamed Im, who was attacked by a student who had injured five others at a high school in Cheongju, North Chungcheong, earlier the same day, talks to reporters outside of the school on April 28. [YONHAP]

Police plan to seek an arrest warrant for the student on charges of attempted murder.

“Considering the seriousness of the case, we have decided to apply for a warrant,” a police official said.

Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff. BY CHOI JONG-KWON [lim.jeongwon@joongang.co.kr]