At least 16 people, including 13 young children, were stabbed by a man brandishing a knife at a crowded bus stop on the outskirts of Tokyo during Tuesday’s morning rush hour. A fire department official said one adult and one child had been killed in the attack; Japan’s public broadcaster NHK said several victims had sustained serious injuries.
The victims had reportedly been waiting in line at a bus stop in Kawasaki City when the suspect, described by NHK as a man in his 40s or 50s, attacked. An eyewitness told The New York Times that he heard the attacker shouting “I’m going to kill you!” in Japanese.
According to NHK, the children who were attacked were all elementary school students between the ages of 6 and 7.
The broadcaster said the suspect was arrested and two knives were recovered at the scene. The suspect, whose motive remains unknown, slashed himself in the neck and died, the report said.
Japan has one of the lowest crime rates in the world and mass killings are almost unheard of. There have, however, been a number of high-profile knife attacks over the past two decades. In 2016, a 26-year-old former employee at a home for people with disabilities went on a stabbing spree at the facility, killing 19 and wounding 25. The attack was characterized as the worst mass killing in the country since WWII.
In 2001, a knife-wielding man stabbed and killed eight children at an elementary school in the city of Osaka. The massacre shocked Japan, the AP noted and led to tighter security in schools across the country.
Tuesday marks the last day of President Donald Trump’s visit to Japan. He spent the morning addressing U.S. troops alongside Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
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