UPDATE: 25 Confirmed Dead in KyoAni Arson, Suspect Heard Shouting “You Ripped Me Off”

News agency NHK reports that as of 8:24 PM JST, 25 people are confirmed to have died in the arson of one of Kyoto Animation’s studios on Thursday morning. An earlier report in this website stated that police have confirmed “multiple deaths” but have yet to release an official count. The reason for the delay of casualty count is that it is protocol for Japanese police not to confirm the death of victims at the scene, as they must first be brought to a hospital for a doctor to examine.

According to the police, a total of 73 employees were in the studio building when the arsonist started the fire. As of the latest official count, 10 people were critically injured, six were moderately injured, and 20 people sustained minor injuries. Seven employees were confirmed safe. However, police are still yet to confirm the safety of five people, as they are still unaccounted for as of this writing.

The employees who unfortunately passed away in the fire were found in different locations: two were on the first floor, 11 on the second floor, one was in the stairwell from the second going to the first floor, and 11 more were found on the stairwell from the third floor going to the rooftop.

The fire started at around 10:30 AM JST, with the Kyoto City Fire Department immediately dispatching 30 fire engines to respond to the scene. Fire out was officially announced at 3:19 PM JST. Police apprehended a 41-year-old man who was seen by nearby residents to have poured gasoline around the building and then started the fire.

According to eyewitness accounts, the suspect ran inside the building while shouting “Die!” and dousing the entrance to the building with gasoline. Eyewitnesses stated that after setting fire to the building, the suspect started to run towards a nearby train station but then fell to the ground. A resident was quoted by Asahi Shimbun as such: “He seemed to be in pain, irritated and suffering, but also angry as if he was resentful. I heard him saying something like ‘you copied it’.” Another resident said he clearly heard the man shout, “You ripped me off”.

His identity has not been made public yet, but several reports confirm that he is not a former employee at KyoAni. Several knives were also found at the scene.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has posted his condolences to the affected families on Twitter. Fans around the world have also tweeted their support to the studio under the hashtags #PrayforKyoAni and #PrayforKyotoAnimation. Sentai Filmworks, which holds the North American licenses for several KyoAni titles such as K-ON! and Love, Chunibyo, and Other Delusions, have opened a GoFundMe page for international fans who want to extend donations to the studio. As of this writing, more than $300,000 dollars have already been reached out of the $500,000 goal set.

All of us here at Ani.ME would like to extend our sincerest condolences to all who were affected by the fire. Stay strong, KyoAni.

UPDATE: Number of confirmed deaths is now 33.

Source: Anime News Network, BBC