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Man apprehended for threatening neighbor with baton, pistol-shaped gas sprayer

Published: 12 Aug. 2025, 12:19 Updated: 12 Aug. 2025, 17:30

A man, center, threatens a neighbor with a pistol-shaped gas sprayer as his father, right, tries to stop him in a parking lot in Yangcheon District, western Seoul, on Aug. 8. Left is a close up of the footage. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

A man in his 20s was taken into custody after threatening a neighbor with a baton and a pistol-shaped gas sprayer during a parking dispute.

The Yangcheon Police Precinct booked the man on Friday on charges related to threatening the neighbor with a collapsible baton and a pistol-shaped gas sprayer in an apartment parking lot in Yangcheon District, western Seoul, according to police on Tuesday.

The victim told police the confrontation began when they asked the man’s father to “park within the lines,” prompting the man to suddenly brandish the gas sprayer, threatening to “shoot you dead” and “put a hole in your head.”

Footage released by local broadcaster Channel A shows a man dressed in black approaching his neighbor, first taking out a collapsible baton and then the gas sprayer. The man’s father is seen urgently trying to stop him, shouting, “Don’t do it! Don’t do it!”

The father told Channel A his son “suffers from anxiety symptoms,” adding, “It was wrong for him to take out the gas sprayer, but it is unfair that he has been made the assailant in this situation.”

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom staff.
BY HYEON YE-SEUL [[email protected]]