South Koreans shocked after back-to-back stabbing rampages

An apparently random stabbing attack in a commuter town near Seoul, the second such rampage in South Korea in less than two weeks, has sparked fear in a country that has long been considered safe with a low murder rate and strict firearm curbs.

A man rammed his car into passers-by then got out and stabbed multiple people in a shopping mall in Seongnam on Thursday, police said. He was arrested on site, leaving 14 people wounded, two in a critical condition.

The unexplained rampage came days after another rare stabbing attack in Seoul which killed one person and wounded three others.

“I’ve always been telling my kids to be careful when they go abroad due to gun fears but now I’m more scared of being in South Korea,” Lee Young-ja, a 78-year-old Seongnam resident who fled after hearing people screaming during Thursday’s incident, told Reuters.

Read more: Reuters