Police intensified their investigation Saturday into a wave of online posts threatening copycat crimes following a recent stabbing rampage at a department store.On Thursday afternoon, a man drove a car onto a sidewalk and attacked people with a knife at a department store in Seongnam, south of Seoul, leaving 14 people wounded.Since the incident, at least 42 posts warning of similar crimes had appeared on internet communities and social media sites as of 7 a.m. Saturday, the National Police Agency said.By noon, the police had apprehended a total of 18 people responsible for such posts, including teenagers, and are tracing the writers of the remaining 24 posts.On Friday, three people were detained in Seoul for making online threats of copycat crimes. Among them was an underage person who threatened to kill five people at a school entrance.In Hanam, east of the capital, a 14-year-old middle school student was held for posting a murder threat.On Saturday morning, a post predicting a knife attack at the Incheon Pentaport Rock Festival in Incheon, 30 kilometers west of Seoul, surfaced briefly online before being removed.On Friday afternoon, the police arrested a man in his 40s who was wandering the streets of Yongin, about 40 kilometers southeast of Seoul, with a kitchen knife. He is suffering from a mental disorder, officials said.In response to heightened public anxiety, the police bolstered security measures across the country.More than 12,000 officers were deployed to patrol 247 locations nationwide, including subway stations and department stores, while 107 SWAT members equipped with firearms were dispatched to 43 densely populated areas, the police agency said.
Source: Yonhap News Agency