An arsonist poured gasoline on people and throughout the Kyoto Animation studio in Kyoto, Japan on July 18th, 2019, resulting in a fire that claimed the lives of at least 16 people, according to early reports.
NHK Japan reported that at least 16 people died of their injuries and that at least a dozen more have been injured in the attack. Around 70 people were in the building at the time of the building being set on fire.
Police did manage to apprehend the suspect who reportedly committed the act, and he’s supposedly in his 40s. The only thing about the suspect that was mentioned in the NHK article was that he yelled “die” in Japanese.
As noted in the tweets, the suspect spread the flammable liquid around the building before igniting it.
Looks like arson.
Someone spread a gasoline-like fluid around the building.
You can see smoke coming out of the windows in that footage.— ultimatemegax❤️ (@ultimatemegax) Srpanj 18, 2019
Prema Crunchyroll, around 20 people are still missing.
The news was not taken well by a lot of fans both in Japan and in the West given the illustrious history of the studio and many of the well renown animated projects that they’ve worked on since 1981. They’re probably best known for Full Metal Panic!, K-On! i kritički priznati Clannad, but more recently Kyoto Animation has become synonymous with the recent airings of Violet Evergarden, which was critically acclaimed by various media publications.
京都アニメーション放火犯41歳男は誰?顔?名前?動機?ガソリンまいて爆発!?現場は!男確保!10人意識不明!けが人多数! 富樫勇太郎？https://t.co/HIkcfm0MsN#富樫勇太郎 pic.twitter.com/auwmyLbxbY
— ぽんきち (@ponkichi003) Srpanj 18, 2019
Exactly why the man decided to attack the people at the studio and claim so many lives has not been disclosed at this time, but some reports are indicating that he was a light novelist named Yutaro Togashi. It’s unclear exactly why he would target so many innocent people, as it seems like something that would happen right out of Sweden or Britain’s no-go-zones.
(Thanks for the news tips RichardGristle, Wondy Bergers and Ebicentre)
