33 slain in Japan arson Susp screamed ‘You die!’ before torching anime studio
TOKYO — A man screaming “You die!” burst into an animation studio in Kyoto, doused it with a flammable liquid and set it on fire Thursday, killing 33 people in an attack that shocked the country and brought an outpouring of grief from anime fans.
Thirty-six others were injured, some critically, in a blaze that sent people scrambling toward the roof in a desperate attempt to escape.
Others emerged bleeding, blackened and barefoot.
The suspect, identified only a 41-year-old man who did not work for the studio, was injured and taken to a hospital.
Police gave no details on the motive, but a witness told Japanese TV the attacker angrily complained that something of his had been stolen, possibly by the company.
Video showed smoke billowing from the complex on outside Kyoto as rescue workers rushed to the scene.
Most victims were employees of Kyoto Animation, which does work on movies and TV productions but is best known for its megahit stories featuring high school girls.
The blaze started in the three-story building in Japan’s capital after the attacker sprayed an unidentified liquid accelerant.
“There was an explosion, then I heard people shouting, some asking for help,” a witness told TBS TV. “Black smoke was rising from windows on upper floors. Ten there was a man struggling to crawl out of the window.”
Japanese media reported the fire might have been set near the front door, forcing people to find other ways out.
The building has a spiral staircase that may have allowed flames and smoke to rise quickly to the top floor, NHK noted.
Fire expert Yuji Hasemi at Waseda University told NHK drawings and other papers also may have contributed to the fire’s rapid spread.
Firefighters found 33 bodies, 20 of them on the third floor and some on the stairs to the roof, where they had apparently collapsed, Kyoto fire official Kazuhiro Hayashi said.
Two bodies were found on the first floor, 11 others on the second floor, he said.
A witness who saw the attacker being approached by police told Japanese media that the man admitted spreading gasoline and setting the fire with a lighter.
She told NHK public television that the man had burns on his arms and legs and complained that something had been stolen from him.
Officials said there were about 70 people in the complex when the blaze erupted.
Kyoto Animation, better known as KyoAni, was founded in 1981 as an animation and comic book production studio, and its hits include “Lucky Star” of 2008, “K-On!” in 2011 and “Haruhi Suzumiya” in 2009.