Shinji Aoba, the man suspected of committing the 2019 Kyoto Animation arson attack is due to finally be arrested on May 27th.

Originally reported by Yahoo! News, suspect Shinji Aoba is to be arrested on May 27th. His arrest has been delayed due to his own severe burns during the incident, that required multiple skin grafts.

Despite being in a stable condition since early August and beginning physical therapy soon after, victims were prioritized over the suspect for skin grafts, thus necessitating the delay. His arrest was also delayed due to the recent outbreak of the novel coronavirus which made transporting him to and from the Osaka Detention Center a health risk.

As we reported previously, the Kyoto Animation arson attack on July 18th was an attack committed on Kyoto Animation’s “Studio One” building. Almost all materials and data kept at Studio One were lost in the fire, and more tragically 36 people lost their lives in the attack, an additional 33 were injured.

Those lost included The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya director Yasuhiro Takemoto, and Sound! Euphonium character designer Shouko Ikeda.

In the wake of the tragedy, fans both in Japan and internationally offered their support and well-wishes to those affected. Additionally fans donated over one billion yen (Roughly $10.1 million USD) to the victims and their families.

Kyoto Animation is known for their light-hearted shows and cutely drawn faces. They are best known for series like Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid, The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, Lucky Star, K-On!, and Clannad.

Image: Yahoo! News