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Knife Attack Kills at Least 15 Near Tokyo Knife Attack Kills 19 Near Tokyo
(about 2 hours later)
TOKYO — A man wielding a knife killed at least 15 people at a facility for the disabled in a Tokyo suburb early Tuesday, according to a report by NHK, the Japanese public broadcaster. SAGAMIHARA, Japan — A former employee of a center for the disabled in a Tokyo suburb broke into the building and killed 19 people with a knife early Tuesday, local officials said.
Satoshi Uematsu, 26, went on a rampage just after 2:30 a.m. in Sagamihara, a town an hour west of Tokyo, the report said. At least 20 people were reported injured. The suspect, Satoshi Uematsu, 26, went on a rampage at about 2:20 a.m. in Sagamihara, a town an hour west of Tokyo, according to the authorities in the Kanagawa Prefecture. Twenty-five people were reported injured, all but one of them seriously.
Just half an hour after the attack, Mr. Uematsu turned himself in at a police station and was charged with murder. Just half an hour after the attack, Mr. Uematsu turned himself in at a nearby police station and was charged with attempted murder. Additional charges were expected. The attack was the worst mass killing in Japan in decades. The country has one of the lowest crime rates in the world.
The local police would not confirm the number dead or injured, or the name of the suspect. Nine of the dead were men, and 10 were women.
According to reports in the Japanese news media, the man was a former employee of the facility and broke into the building through a window, carrying a bag of knives and screaming, “All the handicapped should disappear!” According to the Kanagawa Prefecture officials, Mr. Uematsu entered the building by breaking a first-floor window with a hammer. He was carrying a bag of knives. He later told the police that “all the handicapped should disappear!”
The episode was the worst mass killing in Japan in decades. The country has one of the lowest crime rates in the world. The center, Tsukui Yamayuri-en, which is operated by the prefecture, has 149 long-term residents with mental disabilities. Other patients stay overnight for short periods. Some have physical disabilities as well. It offers services like meals and baths, as well as arts activities.
The facility, Tsukui Yamayuri-en, which is operated by the prefecture, has 149 long-term residents with mental disabilities, and offers services such as meals and baths, as well as arts activities. Some of the residents also have physical disabilities. Other patients stay overnight for short periods. NHK reported that eight staff members normally work at the facility overnight. NHK, the Japanese public broadcaster, reported that eight staff members and a security guard were on duty at the time of the attack.
Sagamihara last made international news in 2012, when one of the suspects in the 1995 poison gas attack on the Tokyo subway system was arrested there. Mr. Uematsu worked at the center from December 2012 until last February, Kanagawa Prefecture officials said. It was not clear why he left.
Kiyoshi Nakatsuka, 73, the vice chairman of the parents’ group for residents at the center, said his son, in his 40s, was lucky enough to escape the killings, NHK reported. Mr. Nakatsuka said many other family members were waiting to hear about their relatives. He had never heard of Mr. Uematsu, or of any problems with other employees, he said.
Set in the Tanzawa Mountains, Sagamihara is a popular summer destination for hikers and other visitors drawn to its large, dam-created lake and campsites and artists’ studios.
“It is really scary,” said Isoko Otsuka, 85, who lives across the street from the police station and often visited the center as a volunteer. “It is unimaginable that this would happen in such a quiet countryside town.”
The town last made international news in 2012, when one of the suspects in the 1995 poison gas attack on the Tokyo subway system was arrested there.
Naoko Kikuchi, one of the most wanted people in Japan for her involvement in the attack, which killed 13 people and injured thousands, had been hiding in the town under the name Chizuko Sakurai.Naoko Kikuchi, one of the most wanted people in Japan for her involvement in the attack, which killed 13 people and injured thousands, had been hiding in the town under the name Chizuko Sakurai.
Japan had just 0.3 murders per 100,000 people in 2011, according to United Nations data. The rate in the United States in the same year was more than 10 times as high, at 4.7.