A man in his 20s has been arrested on suspicion of attempting to murder his mother, a woman in her 60s, by stabbing her repeatedly with a knife on Ganghwa Island in Incheon. Police said the man himself called emergency services immediately after the attack, telling them that his mother was bleeding.
Incheon's Ganghwa Police Station said on the 13th that it had arrested the man, identified only as A, on charges of attempted murder of a lineal ascendant.
Son Seung-beom, a senior judge in charge of warrants at the Incheon District Court, issued the arrest warrant that day after questioning A, citing a risk that he might flee.
A is suspected of stabbing his mother, identified as B, several times in the face and neck at her home in Naega-myeon, Ganghwa County, Incheon, at around 10 p.m. on the 11th, in an attempt to kill her.
B was taken to a hospital for treatment and was later discharged because her wounds were not deep, according to authorities.
It was A who called the fire department's emergency line right after the attack. He reported that his mother was bleeding, and police who arrived at the scene arrested him there as a suspect caught in the act.
Police found that A has a mental illness. Before the warrant was issued, police had also considered pursuing involuntary hospitalization in consultation with the family if the request were denied.
What illness A has been living with and his specific treatment history are not known. Whether he was receiving treatment at the time of the attack has also not been confirmed.
The motive remains unclear. It has not been established whether there was any conflict between mother and son beforehand, or whether A had prepared the knife in advance.
Police plan to refer the case to prosecutors after questioning A about the motive and the circumstances of the attack.
