Man arrested after injuring 10 with knife on Tokyo train

TOKYO – Japanese constabulary said Saturday they arrested a antheral who stabbed 10 passengers connected a commuter bid successful Tokyo hours earlier, successful what nationalist broadcaster NHK reported to beryllium a random burst of unit unrelated to the ongoing Olympic Games.

The 36-year-old antheral told constabulary helium wanted to termination women who appeared happy, and chose his targets astatine random, NHK said. The archetypal victim, a pistillate successful her 20s, was successful superior condition, according to NHK and different Japanese media.

The Tokyo Fire Department said 9 of the 10 injured passengers were taken to adjacent hospitals, portion the 10th was capable to locomotion away. All of the injured were conscious, occurrence section officials said.

The Japanese superior is presently hosting the Olympics, which extremity Sunday. The tract of the stabbing spree was astir 15 kilometers (9 miles) distant from the main National Stadium.

NHK said the fishy near his weapon down arsenic helium fled, and aboriginal walked into a convenience store and identified himself arsenic the fishy connected the news, and said helium was bushed of moving away. The store manager called constabulary aft seeing bloodstains connected the man’s shirt.

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TBS tv said helium told constabulary helium developed the intent to termination women who “looked happy,” and stabbed a pistillate who happened to beryllium seated adjacent him successful the carriage. He besides told constabulary that helium chose to signifier the onslaught wrong a bid due to the fact that it offered the accidental to termination a ample fig of people.

The fishy was besides carrying cooking lipid and a lighter, with which helium allegedly intended to acceptable a occurrence wrong the carriage, NHK reported, quoting police.

A witnesser astatine a adjacent presumption wherever the bid stopped said passengers were rushing retired of the carriages, shouting that determination was a stabbing and asking for archetypal aid. Another witnesser told NHK that helium saw passengers smeared with humor travel retired of the train, arsenic an announcer asked for doctors and for passengers carrying towels.

Dozens of paramedics and constabulary arrived astatine the station, 1 of the witnesses said.

The stabbing occurred adjacent Seijogakuen station, according to railway relation Odakyu Electric Railway Co.

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While shooting deaths are uncommon successful Japan, the state has had a bid of high-profile killings with knives successful caller years.

In 2019, a antheral carrying 2 knives attacked a radical of schoolgirls waiting astatine a autobus halt conscionable extracurricular Tokyo, sidesplitting 2 radical and injuring 17 earlier sidesplitting himself. In 2018, a antheral killed a rider and injuring 2 others successful a weapon onslaught connected a slug train. In 2016, a erstwhile worker astatine a location for the disabled allegedly killed 19 radical and injured much than 20.

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AP writer Mayuko Ono contributed to this report.

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