Witnesses described the moment a 22-year-old assailant, only identified as Choi, went on a knife-wielding rampage at a mall near Seohyeon Subway station in Budang, Gyeonggi, as hell.

The Thursday evening, which until then was like any other day, turned chaotic in a split second as people ran towards the entrance of the AK Plaza in desperation while blood was splattered and cries of help and pain echoed throughout the mall.

A 20 year-old, who wished to remain anonymous, said he was near exit No. 6 of Seohyeon Station which is connected to the mall.

“I was headed towards the subway around 6 p.m. when I suddenly hear people screaming,” the witness said. “When I turned around there was a man running around with a knife just 20 meters away.

“I was so scared and ran away shouting ‘get out!’ [to others].”

A 27-year-old, who only identified herself as Park, said she was coming back to the mall where she worked after picking up her dinner when she heard a knife hitting the floor.

“And I saw people on the ground,” Park said. “I rushed towards the door, following people who were running away screaming.”

Some risked their lives to help others including 18 year-old Yoon Do-il, who was walking near the scene with two friends when the attack happened.

Just a few steps from where people were running away while screaming, he saw a man and a woman who were bleeding.

Yoon helped the woman by applying pressure on her wound.

“Since I didn’t have anything, I placed my hand on the wound while using the bag in a secure airway,” Yoon recalled. “Then a person handed me a towel, which I used on the wound for around 15 minutes.

“The ambulance arrived then.”

However, he said while he was attending to the injured person, he saw the assailant running towards him.

“The police chased him away but I was really scared as I too could have been stabbed at any moment,” Yoon said.

“I also saw a man in his 30s bleeding nearby,” he added. “He passed out after screaming.”

“I hope they are both alive.”

A total of 14 people were injured, including five people that were hit by Choi’s car after he drove it onto a pavement before rushing into the mall and attacking nine others with a knife.

The police tested the assailant, who claimed to be paranoid, for drugs, which turned out negative. However, the police plan to turn in a sample of Choi’s hair to the forensics lab for more accurate testing.

BY HA JUN-HO [lee.hojeong@joongang.co.kr]