A string of unexplained circumstances is emerging in the trail left by a man in his 50s who wounded eight people in a knife attack at a large commercial complex in Incheon. The suspect, a recipient of basic livelihood benefits, was carrying more than 6 million won ($4,300) in cash at the time of the attack, and questions have been raised over why he struck random victims at a shopping complex when he said his grievance was with a hospital's treatment. The case has also exposed gaps in how police and the Ministry of Justice manage high-risk offenders, as a probation officer who met him shortly before the attack failed to detect that he was carrying knives.
More than 6 million won in cash was found among the belongings of the suspect, identified by the surname A and aged 59, for whom an arrest warrant was requested on the 14th on charges of attempted murder and carrying a weapon in a public place, according to police on the 15th. Witnesses said A dropped an envelope containing 2.2 million won at the scene on Sept. 13, and investigators found he was carrying more than 4 million won separately.
A, a recipient of basic livelihood benefits, had no regular earned income apart from occasional daily-hire work, the investigation found. He told police he had raised the cash by selling gold items before the attack. Police are looking into the source of the money and whether he had prepared it as funds to flee.
His stated motive also leaves questions. A was prescribed medication for a fungal foot infection at a hospital in Incheon's Gyeyang District on July 11, and when his symptoms did not improve he went to the hospital on Aug. 13 to complain. After talks on a settlement broke down, he staged a one-man protest outside the hospital from Aug. 19, and during that period he was questioned by police for carrying a paring knife.
A told police he carried out the attack "to make society aware of my grievance over the hospital's treatment." But it remains unclear why a man who had directed his complaints at one specific hospital attacked innocent members of the public at a large commercial complex instead.
Another point of contention is that no warning signs were picked up during his probation, even though police had questioned him over carrying a knife a week before the attack. Incheon's Gyeyang Police Station booked A on the 6th on suspicion of carrying a weapon in a public place, questioned him and confiscated the paring knife. A argued at the time that he carried the knife only to punch holes in his protest placard and had no intention of harming anyone.
Police also confirmed at the time that A was wearing an electronic monitoring anklet due to a prior conviction for attempted murder. However, the fact that he had been carrying a knife is believed not to have been passed on to his assigned probation officer. The officer, who met A about two hours before the attack, finished the meeting and even had lunch with him without knowing there were knives in his bag.
A's denial of any intent to kill also conflicts with the circumstances of the attack. He insisted he "had no intention of killing anyone," but police applied the charge of attempted murder after taking into account that he carried out the attack with knives taped to both hands and the parts of the victims' bodies that were struck. Two other knives and a blunt weapon were also found in his bag, raising the possibility that he had prepared the attack in advance.
Lee Soo-jung, a professor of criminal psychology at Kyonggi University, said there was a possibility that he "attacked people he believed, out of persecutory delusions, had tormented him, and then thought of fleeing with the cash and living on it." She added that "although he claims he had no intention of killing, taping knives to both hands shows a strong intent to carry out the attack he had set out to commit no matter what."
The Incheon District Prosecution Service interviewed A on the morning of the 15th and requested an arrest warrant from the court. The hearing on his detention is set for around 2 p.m. on the 16th.