Tokyo authorities are now searching for the suspected assailant
Credit: Eugene Hoshiko/AP
NEED TO KNOW
- Roughly two dozen people were injured this week after someone allegedly sprayed an unknown substance inside a popular shopping complex in Tokyo
- A police said the person is suspected of spraying the substance at an ATM, after which the victims complained of coughing and throat pain
- An investigation is ongoing and the symptoms were reportedly mild
Roughly two dozen people were injured after someone is believed to have sprayed an unknown substance inside a popular shopping mall this week in Japan, authorities reportedly said.
The victims complained on Monday, May 25, of suddenly developing symptoms including coughing and throat pain after the person allegedly sprayed the substance in Tokyo's Ginza 6 complex, according to the Associated Press, The Guardian and NHK, Japan's public broadcaster.
Twenty-six people were affected, the AP reported, citing the Tokyo Fire Department, while The Guardian said about 20 people were involved.
All but one of those individuals were taken to a hospital with mild symptoms, according to the AP.
Credit: Eugene Hoshiko/AP
The person is suspected of spraying the substance at an ATM on the ground floor of the complex, a Tokyo police spokesperson said, according to The Guardian.
Television footage showed dozens of fire engines and ambulances parked outside the largest and most luxurious commercial complex in Tokyo's upscale Ginza district, according to the AP.
An investigation remains ongoing as authorities search for the person on suspicion of assault, NHK reported. (The Tokyo Fire Department did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment.)
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A 70-year-old woman who was at the mall told NHK that her throat started “stinging and hurting” as she got closer to the ATM.
Credit: Kyodo via AP
“By the time I arrived, the commotion had already started, and I thought there might have been a small fire or something,” she reportedly said. “Once I went into the ATM corner, my throat felt scratchy, almost numb.”
Yuzu Tsuda, a 78-year-old Tokyo resident, also told the AP that he was walking toward the complex after having lunch with friends when he suddenly started coughing and feeling pain in his throat.
He said the side effects subsided about an hour later.
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