Anime firm arson in Japan kills 33
TOKYO — The attacker was heard screaming “Die!” as he ignited the liquid he had splashed around an anime studio in Kyoto.
Within minutes the studio, Kyoto Animation, was a scene of horror: a man hanging from a ledge as flames licked the walls; a pile of bodies on a staircase leading to the roof; a barefoot woman so badly burned that all bystanders could do was spray her with water as they waited for help.
By the time the fire was doused, 33 people had died and three dozen were injured, shocking a nation considered one of the world’s safest. The attack appeared to be Japan’s worst mass killing in decades and prompted a global outpouring of grief among many fans of anime — a school of animation that has become synonymous with Japan.
Kyoto police said little about the suspect, described only as a 41-year-old man, and Japanese newspapers reported he had been detained and hospitalized for burns.
The attack touched a nerve among the Japanese public, and many poured out their grief on social media. The studio has produced popular shows and movies, among them “The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya,” “K-On” and “Clannad,” and has done contract work for the world-famous anime company Studio Ghibli.
NHK reported that an official at the Kyoto City Fire Department said most of the 20 people who were found dead on the stairs that led from the third floor of the studio building to the rooftop were lying on top of one another right near the door to the roof. When rescuers reached the roof, the door was closed, though not locked.