At least 19 hospitalized after alleged spraying incident in Tokyo

Around 25 people reported feeling ill on Monday after a person allegedly sprayed a substance in a commercial facility in Tokyo's Ginza shopping district, with at least 19 taken to hospital, police said, News.Az reports, citing Kyodo.

A woman at the scene made an emergency call around noon, reporting a "pungent smell" and saying "everyone is coughing" at the Ginza Six shopping complex.

Security footage showed an individual, who appeared to be a male, spraying an unknown substance near a cash machine on the first floor of the facility before the call was made. He fled the scene, and police are searching for him.

None of those taken to hospital were in a life-threatening condition, the police said.

The incident occurred about 200 meters southwest of Tokyo Metro's Ginza Station.

A woman in her 50s who was near the scene said she saw multiple pedestrians holding their mouths and that her throat "still feels numb and painful."

News.Az 

By Nijat Babayev