A man in his 30s was found dead after allegedly stabbing a family of three, including an elementary school student, in an apartment elevator in Uijeongbu, Gyeonggi Province, reportedly over a noise dispute between neighbors.

According to police and fire authorities, the incident occurred around 7:23 a.m. in an apartment elevator in Minrak-dong, Uijeongbu. Emergency responders arrived on the scene after receiving a report of a stabbing and discovered a couple in their 40s, referred to as Mr. A and Mrs. B, together with their young daughter, Ms. C, suffering from knife wounds. The three were promptly transported to a nearby hospital. While Mrs. B experienced significant blood loss, she is expected to survive.

Police identified Mr. D, a man in his 30s living alone in the apartment unit directly below the victims, as the primary suspect. Shortly after the incident, officers searched for Mr. D and determined that he had returned to his own unit. Police forcibly entered the residence about 50 minutes after the stabbing and discovered Mr. D deceased in the bathroom, having apparently taken his own life with a knife.

The attack is believed to have unfolded when the victim’s family entered the elevator in the morning to send their daughter off to a school field trip. The elevator stopped on a lower floor, where the suspect boarded and initiated the stabbing. According to reports, a physical struggle ensued inside the moving elevator, and the family managed to escape to a neighbor’s apartment when the doors opened on an intermediate floor.

Police say Mr. D lived alone in the building and was not employed. Investigators have found no record of noise disputes or police complaints filed between the two families. However, some residents told police that previous conflicts related to noise between floors had occurred.

A police spokesperson stated, “As we have not yet been able to interview the victims, the full circumstances are still under investigation,” adding, “This does not appear to be a random or motiveless crime.”

Note “This article was translated from the original Korean version using AI assistance, and subsequently edited by a native-speaking journalist.”

Photo=Yonhap News