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Man brandishes samurai sword in New York Apple store, allegedly attempts to commit seppuku

Scott Wilson Nov 25, 2015
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Screen Shot 2015-11-24 at 15.17.17

Someone took the phrase “cutting in line” way too literally…

Here’s a friendly reminder for all of us to keep all swords and other samurai paraphernalia at home.

On Friday, November 20 at 3:55 p.m., a man who has been identified as Hsu Chien produced and began swinging around a samurai sword inside the Apple Store on Fifth Avenue in New York City.

Sound too crazy to be true? Take a look at this video captured by someone unlucky enough to be in the store when the incident occurred:

Man armed with a sword arrested at #applestore #nyc #breakingnews pic.twitter.com/qljjB1d5L5

— Boris Rio (@borisrio) November 20, 2015

▼ And another video, this time focusing more on Chien himself.

▼ Pictures from the video.

https://twitter.com/barstoolsports/status/668994687118745600

WATCH: Man wielding SAMURAI SWORD storms busy Apple store https://t.co/xQSW4CJ4Bx pic.twitter.com/D77teAfU4f

— Daily Star (@dailystar) November 21, 2015

Some witnesses claim to have heard Chien yell, “I just want an iPhone!” while swinging the sword on the staircase. Still, security wasted no time in chasing after Chien, quickly apprehending and arresting him outside the store.

@FoxNews man pulls sword at Apple Store pic.twitter.com/sA7lXDUUuN

— Cubanos Cigar (@davisintlux) November 20, 2015

Sources differ on exactly what happened when Chien was cornered by security. Some say he was tackled, some say he held the sword up to his neck to threaten suicide, and yet another claims that he attempted seppuku (cutting his stomach open) with it.

Either way, thankfully no one was hurt, and Chien was taken to the Bellevue Hospital where he was evaluated for psychiatric conditions. He is being charged with criminal possession of a weapon and menacing.

Japanese netizens were just as shocked by this event as anyone else. Here’s what they had to say:

“Well, I guess this is what people will think of now when they hear ‘samurai.'”
“Is this what foreign otaku are like?”
“Oh, I was wondering where all the Japanese samurai went. To America I guess.”
“That sword doesn’t look real. Is it made of bamboo?”
“What… exactly was he trying to accomplish?”

It may be a while before we get the whole story here, but if the guy actually just wanted an iPhone, then he probably went about it in the worst possible way. So for anyone out there who’s planning on dressing up in their samurai gear to go and upgrade their phone, you may want to give that idea a second thought.

Source: The Huffington Post Japan via Hachia Kiko, BGR Media, DNAinfo
Top/featured image: Screenshot Facebook/Acie Ace Wilson