20 injured after substance sprayed in Tokyo mall

Around 20 people were injured at a luxury shopping complex in central Tokyo on Monday after a man sprayed an unidentified substance inside the building, according to police and fire department officials. The incident occurred on the ground floor of the mall in the upscale Ginza shopping district, where a man sprayed a substance near an automated teller machine, Tokyo police spokesman Yusuke Koide said.

Emergency crews responded to reports of a strong odor spreading through the building. Firefighters and officials in hazmat suits brought people from the mall into specialized trucks for examination. An ambulance was seen taking two people on stretchers from the scene. Public broadcaster NHK reported that the injuries appeared to be light. A local fire department official said around 20 people were injured after a report of a smell.

The road in front of the mall was blocked off following the incident, and fire trucks lined the street. However, shoppers continued to enter and exit the building using side entrances.

One 70 year old woman who was at the mall told NHK that her throat started stinging and hurting as she approached the ATM. "By the time I arrived, the commotion had...