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Man with knife injures 17 people on Tokyo train, starts fire

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Posted at 10:46 AM, Nov 01, 2021
and last updated 2021-11-01 10:46:47-04

TOKYO (AP) — Police and witnesses say a man dressed in a Joker costume and brandishing a knife stabbed at least one passenger on a Tokyo commuter train and started a fire.

NHK TV reports the 24-year-old suspect poured a liquid and set a fire that partially burned seats.

Some people scrambling to escape the attack jumped from the train's windows.

The Tokyo Fire Department says 17 passengers were injured, including three seriously. One of those victims was a man in his 70s who was stabbed in the chest, police told The Associated Press.

Police were able to arrest the suspect on suspicion of attempted murder, CNN reports. He reportedly told officers he wanted to kill and get the death penalty.

Footage showed firefighters, police officials and paramedics rescuing passengers.

This was the second attack involving a knife on a Tokyo train in three months, the AP found. The other was in August, when a man stabbed 10 passengers on a commuter train in Tokyo a day before the closing ceremony of the Olympics.

The country has had a series of other high-profile killings in recent years, but unlike the United States, shooting deaths are rare in the Asian country.