Aju Business Daily

SEOUL -- A 42-year-old man went berserk, setting his house afire and wielding two knives blindly at fleeing apartment neighbors in a pre-dawn stabbing spree that killed five, injured six others and left stairways and corridors smeared with blood.

The tragedy began at 4:25 a.m. Wednesday on the fourth floor of a 10-story apartment building in Jinju, 270 kilometers (167 miles) south of Seoul. The man identified by his surname An set afire the dining room of his house with inflammable liquid and stabbed five residents, including a 12-year-old girl, to death and wounded six others. Seven were treated in a hospital for inhaling toxic smoke.

Police in Jinju told reporters that An wielded two deadly weapons indiscriminately while waiting in front of the elevator on the second floor.

The victims were found dead or groaning in stairways, corridors and other places when firefighters, police and a rescue team arrived for help. The blaze was put under control in about 20 minutes and the man was arrested on the spot in a tense standoff with policemen armed with a pistol and a stun gun that apparently missed the target.

His motive was not known, but Yonhap News agency quoted investigators as saying he was angry due to overdue wages. Police are checking the man's medical record to see if he had mental problems because he was not intoxicated at that time.

"When I arrived in a smoky spot, I saw residents bleeding and asking for help here and there. It was so horrible," an apartment security guard identified only by his surname Kang, 62, told Yonhap. A 54-year-old resident was quoted as saying the apartment had been filled with screams from residents. "I saw a bleeding resident, but I couldn't see it with my eyes open."