I am covering trend, food and fashion. Previously, I covered diplomacy, city, environment and unification.
Teenager under probe over death threats to elementary school children in Incheon
Messages are posted in a KakaoTalk group chat for parents of an elementary school in Incheon threatening to run over children with a car. Screenshot from online community
By Kim Se-jeong
Police in Incheon said Tuesday they apprehended a high school student suspected of posting death threats in a KakaoTalk group chat threatening to run over school children with a car the day before.
According to Incheon Seobu Police Station, the teenage suspect was caught at a high school in Nonsan, South Chungcheong Province, where he attends, around 8 p.m., Monday, after police traced the posting. His home is in Incheon but he has been staying at a dorm of the high school, according to the police.
The death threats were posted in a group chat that is shared by parents of an elementary school in the port city west of Seoul to coordinate drop-offs and pick-ups of the students. It was an open chat where anybody can join without a password.
A parent in the group chat reported the threat to the police on Monday morning.
"I will kill all the children when they go to and from school," read the message posted along with a photo of a car steering wheel. "I will get the names of the students in this group chat and kill all of them.”
While the investigation was ongoing on Monday, police deployed three patrol cars to the elementary school and also to nearby middle and high schools. Additionally, 20 riot police and five patrol officers were dispatched. The elementary school also temporarily halted extracurricular programs.
The suspect reportedly told the police that it was only a prank.