Bundang rampage suspect visited site before crime: police

Police are deployed at the site of a stabbing rampage incident in a department store in Bundang, Gyeonggi Province, Thursday. (Yonhap)

A suspect who was captured after ramming into five pedestrians with a vehicle and then stabbing nine at a busy subway station area in Bundang, of Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, Thursday, had visited the area the day before the attack carrying weapons, police said Friday.

The investigation team of Gyeonggi Nambu Police Station interrogating the suspect -- an early 20s man identified by his surname Choi -- said he had visited the area near Seohyeon Station on Wednesday after purchasing two weapons.

While the man apparently intended to carry out the attack at that time, he testified that he did not go through with it because he was “afraid,” according to police.

Police said Choi claimed he was “followed by a certain group” who was “stalking” him and “threatening to kill” him. His family members reportedly said Choi was suffering from various mental illnesses, including a diagnosis of schizoid personality disorder in 2020. The claims are yet to be medically confirmed.

Some have also pointed to the amount of planning that went into attack, such as how Choi covered his face during the act, and that he disposed of a weapon in nearby bushes while leaving the scene, which are moves that could be inconsistent with the notion of committing a crime due to mental illnesses.

Police are currently conducting a forensic investigation into the suspect’s two mobile phones and one personal computer.

Police said they will seek for an arrest warrant after further investigating the details of the attack and motive.

Choi was caught minutes after ramming his vehicle into pedestrians near Seohyeon Station and stabbing passersby inside a department store in the area. Of those injured, two are reportedly in critical condition.

The incident has rattled a country that has been considered relatively safe, prompting the national police to declare a “special policing” operation.

By Korea Herald(khnews@heraldcorp.com)