Rescuers papare stretchers at Soshigaya Okura Station after stabbing on a commuter train, in Tokyo Friday, August 6, 2021
A man with a knife attacked 10 passengers on a commuter train in Tokyo on Friday and was arrested by police after fleeing, fire department officials and news reports said. Tokyo metropolitan police said early Saturday they seized a man in his 30s who brandished a knife and caused injuries to nine people inside carriages of a commuter train. The Tokyo Fire Department said nine of the 10 injured passengers were taken to nearby hospitals, while the 10th was able to walk away. All of those injured were conscious, fire department officials said.
A woman in her 20s was seriously injured, NHK public television said. It said the suspect left his knife behind as he fled, and later gave himself up at a convenience store.
The Japanese capital is currently hosting the Olympics, which end Sunday.
NHK identified the man as 36-year-old Yusuke Tsushima. He reportedly told police that he developed the intent to kill after seeing women who looked happy, and chose his targets at random.
Police refused to confirm the report of his arrest or details about the suspect.
A witness at a nearby station where the train stopped said passengers were rushing out of the carriages and shouting that there was a stabbing and asking for first aid. Another witness told NHK that he saw passengers smeared with blood come out of the train, as an announcer asked for doctors and for passengers carrying towels.
Dozens of paramedics and police arrived at the station, one of the witnesses said.
NHK said the suspect later walked into a convenience store and identified himself as the suspect on the news, and said he was tired of running away. The store manager called police after seeing bloodstains on the man’s shirt.
Police were questioning the man as they prepared his arrest, NHK said.
The stabbing occurred near Seijogakuen station, according to railway operator Odakyu Electric Railway Co.
While shooting deaths are rare in Japan, the country has had a series of high-profile killings with knives in recent years.
In 2019, a man carrying two knives attacked a group of schoolgirls waiting at a bus stop just outside Tokyo, killing two people and injuring 17 before killing himself. In 2018, a man killed a passenger and injuring two others in a knife attack on a bullet train. In 2016, a former employee at a home for the disabled allegedly killed 19 people and injured more than 20.
