hankyoreh

Police patrol Ori Station in Seongnam on Aug. 4 after a post went up online threatening a copycat attack following a stabbing spree at Seohyeon Station on Aug. 3. (Baek So-ah/The Hankyoreh)

On Friday morning, traces of a stabbing spree could still be seen around Seohyeon Station in Bundang, a district of Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province.

Police were deployed both inside and outside of Seohyeon Station, and security guards were vigilantly watching the passageway leading from the subway station to a department store. There were also bloodstains on the sidewalk in front of the station, as well as police tape that had been strung up the night before.

That previous evening, an individual surnamed Choi had driven his vehicle up onto the sidewalk and then stalked the passageway between the station and the department store, injuring a total of 14 people.

Police tape still cordoned off many areas surrounding Seohyeon Station on Aug. 4, the morning after a stabbing spree there left 14 injured. (Baek So-ah/The Hankyoreh)

Shortly after the rampage at Seohyeon Station, several threats to carry out copycat crimes were posted online, stoking public anxiety. One of the locations mentioned in the threats was Ori Station, also in Seongnam, and police were deployed there in force to prepare for the worst.

Firetrucks and rescue teams were also dispatched on the morning of Aug. 4 in response to an incident report that turned out to have been made in error.

A sign informs readers that shops on the first floor of the AK Plaza mall that connects to Seohyeon Station will not be operating on Aug. 4. (Baek So-ah/The Hankyoreh)

A television in Seoul Express Bus Terminal in the city’s Seocho District displays a news broadcast showing police Commissioner General Yoon Hee-keun declaring special security activities to deter stabbing sprees. A man carrying a knife had been arrested at the bus terminal that day. (Kang Chang-kwang/The Hankyoreh)

Police stand guard on patrol outside Seohyeon Station in Seongnam on Aug. 4. (Baek So-ah/The Hankyoreh)

Police stand guard on patrol outside Ori Station in Seongnam on Aug. 4 after a post went up online threatening a copycat attack following a stabbing spree at Seohyeon Station on Aug. 3. (Baek So-ah/The Hankyoreh)

By Kang Chang-kwang, senior staff writer; Baek So-ah, staff reporter

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