Halloween was the scene of a real tragedy in Japan this Sunday night, October 31, when a man disguised as the “Joker” stabbed several passengers on a Tokyo commuter train.
After the attack, which involved about 17 people, the attacker started a fire, causing people to escape by jumping out of windows, according to comments from other police passengers.
The Fire Department of the capital city of Japan announced that 17 of the passengers were injured by an attacker with a knife, three of them seriously.
Some more had minor injuries.
The “Joker”, identified as a 24-year-old man, was arrested at the scene and was charged with attempted murder, according to NHK.
Until the early hours of Monday, November 1, the motive for the attack and whether or not it was a problem related to terrorism was unknown.
According to what was published by Nippon Television, the attacker told police that he “wanted to murder and be sentenced to the death penalty”, and that he used a previous case of stabbing in trains as an example, although this was not confirmed. official.
#Japan 🇯🇵 Un homme déguisé en personnage du Joker a attaqué des passagers au couteau sur une ligne de train de Tokyo dimanche soir faisant 17 blessées
Aprés l’attaque l’homme a attendu assis les forces de police 👇 https://t.co/N5OIbPevHN
pic.twitter.com/oUWqWrvn3a– AsieNews (@AsiaNews_FR) November 1, 2021
According to witnesses, the attacker was in a shiny disguise, with a green shirt, a blue suit and a purple coat, like the “Joker” from Batman. At the same time, in Japan, as in much of the world, Halloween was being celebrated, so the man passed as one more participant of the festivities.
The Tokyo Police reported that the attack occurred inside the Keio train, in the vicinity of Kokuryo station.
TV and social media images showed firefighters, police and paramedics rescuing passengers from the formation, many of whom jumped from train windows to escape the assailant and the fire.
The DC Comics film Joker was a marketing success and reawakened interest in the character from the Batman saga around the world.
It premiered in 2019 and had more than 1 billion box office revenue. The film also became a critical success, winning the Oscar, a Golden Globe, the Bafta and the Screen Actors Guild award for Joaquin Phoenix, the lead.