Two Feared Dead, 19 Injured in Mass Stabbing in Japan’s Kawasaki

Public broadcaster NHK said a suspect was arrested for this incident which occurred in Kawasaki city, on the southern edges of Tokyo.

Tokyo: Nineteen people, including children, were stabbed near a park outside Japan’s capital, Tokyo, officials said on Tuesday.

It is not yet clear what prompted the suspect to go on his stabbing spree but it left at least two, including a child, dead.

AFP: 19 injured in mass stabbing attack in the Japanese city of Kawasaki and one suspect, a man, detained after reportedly stabbing himself

— ANI (@ANI) May 28, 2019

Public broadcaster NHK said a suspect was arrested for this incident which occurred in Kawasaki city, on the southern edges of Tokyo. The attack took place at the time of the morning commute.

Police responding to the attack recovered two knives, media report. The suspect stabbed himself in the shoulder before he was detained, said.

A spokesman for the Kawasaki Fire Department told AFP that an emergency call was received at 7.44 local time on Tuesday stating that a number of schoolchildren had been stabbed.

The man reportedly started attacking people near a bus stop, not far from a local train station.

Footage on local news stations showed emergency services arriving at the scene and setting up medical tents to treat the wounded.

NHK said two knives were spotted at the scene, but there was no confirmation from officials.

“It’s a quiet neighbourhood, it’s scary to see this kind of thing happen,” a local was quoted as saying.

Japan has one of the lowest rates of violent crime in the developed world. In 2018, a man was arrested in central Japan after stabbing one to death and injuring two others aboard a bullet train.