Eight injured in knife attack at South Korea shopping mall 

SEOUL — A man has been arrested after he stabbed at least eight people at a shopping mall in the South Korean city of Incheon on Tuesday afternoon, police and fire officials said. One victim was in life-threatening condition and received surgery at a nearby hospital.The suspect attacked shoppers as he moved through the mall before business owners and bystanders subdued him, according to Incheon’s Namdong District Police Station and witnesses.The 59-year-old suspect was reported to have carried out the attack at 13:40 local time (05:40 BST) with knives strapped to both of his hands, according to Incheon Namdong Police Station.Law enforcement is currently investigating the suspect’s motives for the attack, which took place in a building housing an outlet of Homeplus, one of South Korea’s largest discount supermarket chains.The suspect reportedly started stabbing people while travelling on an escalator from the floor where Homeplus was located.Pictures and clips carried by local media show him attacking people at a food court.The man was subdued by bystanders who used chairs to block his path and was later detained by police officers.All eight victims — six women and two men – were taken to hospital.One of them suffered from “cardiac arrest”, while the others had injuries to their back and shoulders.In response to the casualties, authorities had set up an emergency medical center on the building’s first floor.The man has a history of violent offenses and mental illness, and was required to wear an electronic monitoring anklet, which he was wearing at the time of the attack, according to South Korea’s Justice Ministry. Reports said he had been previously convicted of attempted murder after he stabbed his ex-wife, and had spent four years in prison.He had also reportedly been booked by police last month on suspicion of carrying a knife while holding a one-man protest in front of an Incheon hospital over medical treatment he had received.The attack happened in a country known for its high public safety standards.South Korea recorded about 0.5 homicides per 100,000 people in 2024, according to Statistics Korea. That is about one-tenth of the global average.