Mystery substance sprayed by man near Tokyo shopping centre puts 20 in hospital

A busy shopping centre in Tokyo fell into chaos after a man sprayed an unknown substance,causing 20 people to fall ill.

Footage from Japan’s Nippon TV showed dozens of emergency responders at the scene.

One responder was filmed in a hazmat suit wiping what appeared to be a stain on a wall at the Ginza Six shopping complex.

A man was spotted spraying an ‘unknown substance’ around a bank ATM located on the first floor of the upscale shopping mall,Tokyo police said.

Roads around the mall,in Tokyo’s shopping district,were blocked off with fire trucks lined up in the streets.

A police cordon is currently in place as officers investigate (Picture: AP)

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Start your day informed with Metro's News Updates newsletter or get Breaking News alerts the moment it happens.One reporter saw two people on stretchers being placed into an ambulance while hazmat suit-wearing responders went inside the shopping centre.One 70-year-old woman who was at the mall told AFP that as she walked near the ATM where the spray was deployed,her throat started ‘stinging’.She added: ‘By the time I arrived,the commotion had already started,and I thought there might have been a small fire or something.‘Once I went into the ATM corner,my throat felt scratchy,almost numb.’Police are currently investigating the incident.The noxious substance was sprayed by an ATM (Picture: AP)In 2024,four people were injured after being sprayed with an ‘unknown substance’ at the University of Greenwich.Police rushed to the university campus shortly following reports that a man had been ‘attacked’.The man was treated for head injuries before being rushed to the hospital.The substance was later found to be non-toxic,but students were nonetheless on edge after the incident.Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at .For more stories like this,check our news page.