Man sets Kyoto anime studio on fire while screaming ‘you die,’ killing dozens
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 unidentified liquid and put fire.(Kyodo News via AP)
Nearly two dozen people died after a man charged his way into an animation studio, lighting it on fire while screaming “you die!”
Firefighters said the suspect spread a liquid accelerant before sparking the blaze.
The smoke and flames billowed into the air of the western Japanese city of Kyoto Thursday, where 36 others were injured – some critically.
Authorities confirmed 13 people died on the first and second floors, and presumed at least 10 others were also lost in the fire trying to escape to the roof for air.
The man accused of the arson was found injured and taken to the hospital.
Kyoto Animation is known for producing mega-hits featuring high school girls, including “Lucky Star,” “K-On” and “Haruhi Suzumiya”
People who escaped the building and saw the suspect said he wasn’t a colleague. There were at least 70 people inside when he stormed the business. It’s the worst mass killing in the country since 2016, when a man stabbed and killed 19 people at an assisted living facility.
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The Associated Press contributed to this report.