Volunteer pulls kitchen knife after being scolded for working drunk

A man in his 50s was booked by police after threatening fellow volunteers with a knife on a street in Incheon. The man had been drinking and carried out the act after being scolded for working while intoxicated.

According to the Incheon Jemulpo Police Station on Friday, officers arrested the suspect, identified only as A, on charges of carrying a bladed weapon in a public place in Gaehang-dong on Thursday.

A is accused of brandishing a knife and threatening volunteers in Gaehang-dong, Jemulpo-gu, at around 4 p.m. Thursday.

At the time, the volunteer group A belongs to was holding an event distributing sweet potatoes on the street.

A is believed to have been drinking at lunch and got into an argument with another member. When a fellow volunteer later rebuked him — asking whether it was acceptable to work while drunk — A picked up a kitchen knife that was at the scene.

A then held up the knife and said to those nearby, "Can you see this?"

Officers who responded to a report of the incident arrested A at the scene.

Police said they plan to investigate the full circumstances of the incident.

"There are no volunteers who say they were harmed by A's act of wielding the knife, so we are investigating on charges of carrying a bladed weapon in a public place rather than aggravated intimidation," a police official said.

Police said they are also reviewing whether to seek an arrest warrant for A.