The U.S. ambassador to South Korea was giving a speech at a performing arts center in downtown Seoul, when an armed assailant slashed him in the face and wrist with a razor.
According to the Associate Press, the ambassador, Mark Lippert, was left stunned and bleeding heavily from his face and hand, after the attacker assaulted him with a weapon containing a 10-inch blade. The suspect was reportedly screaming that North and South Korea should be unified, after their longtime rivalry.
The site reports:
TN TV reported that the suspect — identified by police as a 55-year-old, surnamed Kim — screamed during the attack, “South and North Korea should be reunified.” A police official, speaking on condition of anonymity because the investigation was still happening, said the suspect in 2010 threw a piece of concrete at the Japanese ambassador in Seoul.
The suspect shouted anti-war slogans after he was detained Thursday.
Yonhap TV showed men in suits and ties subduing the attacker, who was dressed in a modern version of the traditional Korean hanbok, and Lippert later being rushed to a police car with a handkerchief pressed to his cheek.
The White House said that President Obama called the ambassador following the incident “to wish him the very best for a speedy recovery.”
Fortunately, Lippert’s injuries are not life threatening, and he should make a speedy recovery. See the footage from after the attack above.
SOURCE: Associate Press | PHOTO CREDIT: Getty
