Nerve gas in the Tokyo subway. During the morning rush hour, fanatics from the Aum Shinrikyo religious sect converged on the Kasumigaseki station of the Tokyo subway and released a lethal gas, sarin, into the air. After taking an antidote, the terrorists fled, while passengers, blinded and gasping, ran toward the exits. Twelve people died, and over 5,000 were hospitalized, many in a coma. After the attack, police raided Aum Shinrikyo’s headquarters, arresting hundreds of followers, including leader Shoko Asahara. The sect, which practiced a blend of Buddhism, yoga, and Christian apocalyptic philosophy, was already under investigation for a similar attack in 1994 that had killed seven people, and for the assassinations of several political opponents.
