In an interview with the news media on Saturday, Kyoto Animation President Hideaki Hatta as revealed that they are considering to demolish their First studio building, which is the site of the arson attack on Thursday.
The company president is considering to build a public park in the same area with a memorial to the victims of the attack, saying “… when I consider the staff and the people in this neighborhood, there are people who don’t want to see such a gruesome sight.”
He had also revealed that one of the 34 people seriously injured victims had their legs amputated.
Hatta had also told the media that the messages of support they receive from around the world are “becoming their emotional support”.
He may also consider holding a joint memorial service to all of the victims of the fire.
Japanese public broadcaster NHK has reported on Saturday that they have interviewed a relative of a Kyoto Animation employee, they revealed that the police would be conducting DNA testing to identify some of the victims, and the result of the tests may be released within a week.
South Korea’s Foreign Affairs Ministry has confirmed in a statement that one of the injured in the attack is a South Korean national.
Kyoto Animation’s first studio building, located in Uji City in Kyoto Prefecture, was engulfed in flames on Thursday, July 18, at 10:30am local time (09:30am PHT) which taken the lives of 34 people and severely injured 34 more. Local police said that there are about 74 people inside the building when the fire started.
A 41-year-old man has been apprehended by the police and identified by witnesses as the suspect, who threw gasoline inside the building and shouted “Die!” before setting the building on fire.
Japanese public broadcaster NHK reported that, according to investigative sources, the suspect was previously arrested in 2012 for armed robbery at a convenience store and he was sentenced to three years and six months in jail.
The suspect was not formally arrested as of press time because he was being treated in a hospital for serious burn injuries, but the authorities are saying that he had admitted to the crime.
