US soldier ‘exile’ in North Korea suffered mental breakdown after death of 7-year-old cousin last month; witnesses say they thought dash was a TikTok stunt
US soldiers invading north korea After his 7-year-old cousin died tragically from a rare genetic disease, he acted “reckless and crazy” for months, a relative said.
Private First Class Travis King, 23, suffered a breakdown following the death of King Nazir Gates in February 2023.
Before the border dash, King was also imprisoned of Korea Two months after attacking a man in a nightclub and damaging a police car. He also faced disciplinary action from his military superiors.
Karl Gates, the father of King Nazir, the younger brother of Travis King’s mother, said his cousin’s condition had deteriorated and the soldier appeared to be “weakened”.
“Travis couldn’t be here, so it affected me a lot. He was in the Army overseas,” Gates said.
Travis King, who rushed into North Korea on Tuesday, acted “reckless and crazy” for months after the tragic death of his cousin Nazir Gates from a rare genetic disease.
“The pain came from my son and it escalated to this point,” said Karl Gates, father of King Nazir, the uncle of Travis King.
“When my son was on life support and when he died… Travis said.” [being] reckless [and] When he found out that my son was going to die soon, he went mad,” he said. Daily Beast.
“I know it has something to do with what he did.”
King Nazir had a very rare condition called SPTLC-2 that caused his muscles to weaken. The boy received extensive treatment for this condition, but he deteriorated rapidly in the weeks before his death.
His family said he was “always in good spirits” despite his illness and was an “animal lover” and “outdoor enthusiast”.
Gates said King “loves and cherishes” his cousin, adding: “Imagine yourself in the military and your favorite baby cousin, my only child. He’s struggling and going through pain.”
“And he’s crying like a baby and now you’re in service so there’s nothing you can do about it. And you cry like a baby. The pain was coming from my son and it escalated to this shit.”
Private First Class Travis King, 23, was weakened after the death of King Nazir Gates (pictured) in February 2023, the soldier’s uncle said.
Worries about King Jr. rose on Wednesday as North Korea had yet to send troops or acknowledge the incident.
Tourists on border tours snapped pictures of King just before he boarded the secretive communist state.
Reverend King is seen looking across the border into a secretive communist country, wearing a black T-shirt and hat purchased from a gift shop in the DMZ.
Witnesses said he laughed hysterically. After running away from a military officer and participating in a tour, it was when I dashed hard.
Sarah Leslie, a tourist from New Zealand who witnessed King’s crossing and took pictures of the soldiers, said she initially believed it was a stunt “for TikTok.”
Leslie, a tourist from New Zealand, and her father were part of a group that left Seoul on Tuesday morning to visit the demilitarized zone that separates South and North Korea.
King was among a group of 43 tourists, dressed casually in jeans and a black T-shirt, and she didn’t know he was a soldier or in legal trouble at the time.
Sarah Leslie, a tourist from New Zealand who witnessed King’s stunt, said she initially believed it was “for TikTok.”
Leslie said her tour group’s visit to the Joint Security Area in Panmunjom Village went a step further than many tour groups, allowing tourists to effectively set foot on North Korean soil within one of the jointly guarded buildings.
To take such a tour, she said, you need to submit your passport and obtain permission in advance.
The group left Seoul by bus early in the morning, but Leslie noticed that King was traveling alone and didn’t appear to be talking to anyone else on the tour. At one point, she said, he bought a DMZ hat at a gift shop.
On Tuesday afternoon, the tour was coming to an end — the group had just gotten out of the building and hung around taking pictures — when she saw King running “really fast.”
“At first I thought he was doing really stupid pranks and stunts, like TikTok, doing the dumbest things, and maybe his buddies were filming him,” Leslie said. “But then I heard one of the soldiers shout, ‘Get that man!'”
Leslie said the order was shouted by an American soldier, one of a group patrolling the area with South Korean troops.
Former President Donald Trump meets with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un at Panmunjom in the Demilitarized Zone of South Korea on June 30, 2019. Panmunjom is the place where Reverend King crossed.
The King crossed the border at Panmunjom while inspecting the Joint Security Area in the Demilitarized Zone
But the soldiers didn’t have time to react. She said that after running about 10 meters through narrow corridors between distinctive blue buildings, King vanished across the border. In seconds it was all over.
Leslie said there were no people on the North Korean side. The tour group was informed in advance that the local North Koreans were resting in peace since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.
She said the soldiers pushed all the tourists into the building after Dr. King ran and took them to an information center to make a statement. Many of the tourists, including her father, had never seen King run, but the soldier explained the incident to them, she said.
“People just couldn’t believe what happened,” Leslie said.
“A lot of people were really shocked. We got on the bus and got off and it was like we were all looking at each other.”
King’s mother, Claudine Gates, said last night she was “very proud” of her son, adding, “I just want him to go home and come back to America.”
“I can’t imagine Travis doing anything like that,” said Gates, who lives in Racine, Wisconsin.
The photo surfaced after it was revealed that Dr. King had had repeated clashes with police. Korea He was charged with hitting a man in a nightclub and damaging a police car.
Court documents show King was indicted on two counts of assault several months ago and fined by a South Korean court for damaging a police car.
King’s mother Claudine Gates only wants her son back home in Wisconsin (pictured)
At a Pentagon press conference on Tuesday, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin confirmed that US servicemen are likely currently being detained in North Korea.
The border between North and South Korea is heavily guarded
King pleaded guilty to assault and vandalism charges resulting from the October incident, and on February 8, the Seoul Western District Court fined him 5 million won ($4,000), according to court records and a copy of the verdict reviewed by Reuters.
Two U.S. officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the soldier was due to be reprimanded by the U.S. military.it is not clear Whether this disciplinary action is related to his conviction for damaging a police vehicle.
A court in Seoul said King punched a man in the face several times at a club on September 25 last year, but the lawsuit was settled.
Two weeks later, on October 8, police attempted to question King in response to reports of another altercation involving him. He continued his “aggressive behavior” without answering police questions, according to court documents.
Police ordered the man to sit in the back seat of a patrol car, where he shouted abuse and insults to South Koreans, the South Korean military and the South Korean police, according to the ruling.
According to the ruling, he kicked the car door several times while ranting and gave him damages of about 584,000 won (about 46,000 yen).
The court said the defendant admitted the charges, had no criminal record, paid 1 million won ($700) to repair the vehicle, and cited reasons in favor of the defendant in the sentencing.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12316471/US-soldier-defected-North-Korea-suffered-mental-breakdown-month-death-seven-year-old-cousin-eyewitnesses-say-thought-dash-TikTok-stunt.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490&ito=1490 US soldier ‘exile’ in North Korea suffered mental breakdown after death of 7-year-old cousin last month; witnesses say they thought dash was a TikTok stunt