On April 29, an incident took place at Dokso Middle School in Dokso-ri, Musan County, North Hamkyung Province where a masked man broke into the school and set fire to it with gasoline. The man also snatched rifles of border guards and opened fire at them indiscriminately.
Regarding this incident, a source from North Korea said in a phone conversation with Daily NK on May 23, “A fire broke out on two of the school buildings around 1 a.m. on April 29. It turned out a man with a mask poured out gasoline and set fire.”
The source said, “At that time, a couple of border guards were patrolling around the school. When they spotted the fire, they ran into the incident scene. And they put down their rifles and jumped into the flames trying to save the portraits of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il hanging inside the burning classroom.”
The source said that the guards took down the portraits and tried to leave the classroom, only to be gunned down by the masked man who had picked up the rifles lying outside the building and opened fire indiscriminately. The guards dropped the portraits and tried to run away but found no escape in the burning classroom.
One guard was shot through his leg, the other through his abdomen. After the shooting, the masked man threw away the rifle and fled. The wounded were found by villagers who came into the fire scene and sent to a hospital, but one of them died soon.
“Villagers were able to save some of the school buildings because they came into the site when they saw the fire and put it out right away. However, it is difficult to track down the runaway as he wore a mask and gloves and left no evidence such as fingerprints at the crime scene,” the source said.
“What is strange is this. If things like this happen in the past, the authorities would call up people and fuss about the incident saying the South Korean intelligence maneuvered behind the scenes. However, this time, they tried very hard to keep a low profile about the case. They make sure villagers and neighboring people’s units do not spread a rumor about the incident,” the source said.
Another source also confirmed this account. A person named Kim, defector from North Korea and now a human rights activist said on May 23, “The offender wore a gas mask and the guard who was shot through his chest was sent to a hospital but died right away.”
Many defectors guess that the offender must be a serviceman judging from the fact that he was wearing a gas mask at the scene.
