A knifeman dressed as the Joker allegedly stabbed 10 people onboard a Tokyo train full of passengers on their way to celebrate Halloween.
One man in is 60s or 70s was left fighting for his life after he was stabbed by the man apparently dressed as the Batman villain on the commuter train in Tokyo on Sunday
It was claimed the attacker, dressed in a purple suit and bright green shirt, also sprayed passengers with acid before setting the carriage seats on fire.
As passengers fled he then sat down calmly and lit up a cigarette as he waited for police to arrive.
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One witness told the Yomiuri newspaper: “I thought it was a Halloween stunt.”
He said he saw passengers running in a panic towards his train car and: “Then, I saw a man walking this way, slowly waving a long knife. There was blood on the knife.”
Another video on Twitter showed a bespectacled man dressed in a purple suit, including a purple waistcoat, a patterned tie and a long coat.
He has just one glove on his left hand while he smokes the cigarette in the other with a black mask tucked under his chin.
He is sat alone in an empty train puffing on a cigarette, his legs crossed and looking calm before he is surrounded by law enforcement in a later clip.
Local media reported later that the suspect told authorities he “wanted to kill people so he could be sentenced to death”.
Police officials in Tokyo said the attack happened inside the Keio train near Kokuryo station around 8pm on Sunday night. It is believed the train had to make an emergency stop.
A video was posted online shows people running down a carriage away from smoke before an explosion is heard and flames erupt.
When the doors of the train failed to open immediately, panicked passengers started to squeeze out of the small train windows to escape.
Two police officers, one with a baton and another with a shield can be seen approaching the blazing carriage.
The police in Tokyo said information that hydrochloric acid was spread on the train had not been confirmed but they did confirm a 24-year-old man was arrested with a knife.
He did not resist arrest and was reportedly wearing character costume when seized by police.
The incident comes after a number of incidents on trains including two who were injured in an acid attack and another stabbing in August on another Tokyo train with a 36-year-old man injuring nine passengers
