Kyoto Animation Fire – At Least 26 Dead, Did the Attack Happen, and More

Kyoto Animation Fire

Kyoto Animation Fire At least 26 people are dead, and dozens injured after a suspected arson attack at an animation studio in Kyoto.

Japan, local emergency officials have said. Local media cited police as saying that a man broke down in the studio.

Kyoto Animation Fire, At least 26 dead

• Local media cited police as saying a man broke down in the Kyoto Animation
  Co studio on Thursday morning.
• Police say the suspect, a 41-year-old, doused gasoline before lighting it.
• Some people remain unaccounted for, broadcaster NHK reported.
• The suspect has been taken into custody and was taken to hospital with injuries.
• Smoke billows from a three-story building of Kyoto Animation in a fire in Kyoto, western Japan, Thursday, July 18, 2019.
• Kyoto prefectural police said the fire broke out Thursday morning after a man burst into it and spread the unidentified liquid and put fire (Kyodo News via AP).
• The Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said the incident was “too shocking for words” and offered condolences to those affected. Police also found knives at the scene, say local media.
• NHK said the man had been heard saying “the dead drop” when he set the building on fire.

How did the attack happen?

• Around 10:30 a.m., reports of flames began in the Kyoto Animation building.
• Most of the witnesses said they heard an explosion and then saw the flames erupt that engulfed the study.
• When the firefighters managed to control them and treat the injured, the search began inside the facilities affected by the fire.
• There they found knives. Japan’s national public broadcaster NHK said a man had yelled “die all” before starting the fire.
• “I saw people burned, covered with something. They were taking them to the ambulance,” one of the neighbours told local media.
• According to the authorities, most of the victims were finding on the stairs leading to the roof, where they had tried to escape.
• Kyodo news agency said firefighters found the roof door closed, trapping people inside.
• The Japanese authorities indicating that most of the victims were finding dead or suffering a “cardiorespiratory arrest”.
• A common formulation in Japan to refer to deceased cases whose deaths have not been officially confirmed.
• Another 36 people were taking to medical centres, some of them in critical condition. About 70 people were in the building when the fire started.
• And a Kyoto fire official told Reuters that the building did not have sprinklers or fire hydrants inside but did not need them to comply with Japan’s fire code.

Who is the suspect in the attack?

• The exact nature of Shinji Aoba’s relationship with the animation company is unclear as of yet.
• Still, witnesses to the assault agree that he appearing to be very upset with KyoAni.
• According to various testimonies to the NHK, the man would have escaped from the building after the fire and was arresting when he was trying to go to a train station.
• Some reports indicate that he was chasing by studio employees and fell to the ground, where the authorities caught him.
• “A person with burning hair was on the floor and had several bloodstains,” a woman who lives next to the studio told the Kyodo news agency.
• “Besides that, he was hurt. You could tell that he was upset, resentful. I heard him say something like ‘they got it,'” said another neighbour.

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