Families of motel attack victims accuse police officer of dereliction of duty

Two teenagers were tragically killed in a knife attack at a motel in Changwon, South Korea last December, leaving their families devastated. The families of the victims have now filed a complaint against a police officer and nine other individuals, accusing them of dereliction of duty. Their legal representative revealed this on Friday.

According to the complaint filed with the Changwon District Prosecutors Office on Thursday, the officer in charge arrived at the scene too late. Moreover, the families claim that the officer failed to take adequate action despite receiving relevant reports earlier in the day. The incident occurred when a suspect in his twenties, who had a history of violent crime and had been on probation since 2021 for rape, opened fire at the motel.

The suspect subsequently took his own life at the scene, after also seriously injuring another middle school student. The law firm representing the families, Taejin, stated that the complaint also targets nine other individuals, including a probation officer.

The deceased suspect had not been staying at the address he had registered with the probation officer, a fact that should have raised red flags before the fatal incident took place.