Man in Japan shoots two police officers and kills two women New corona wave in China: millions of infections per week

The alleged perpetrator was arrested after a violent act that left four dead in Japan’s Nagano prefecture. As Japanese television channel NHK reported on Friday, the man was overpowered in the early hours of the morning (local time) in front of his father’s house in the city of Nakano.

He hid there for hours after allegedly stabbing a woman and shooting two police officers with a shotgun. Another elderly woman was later found dead outside the home. Two other women, including the mother of the alleged perpetrator, were able to escape from the house, according to NHK. According to the broadcaster, his father was unharmed.

The motive for the bloody deed in a quiet rural area of ​​paddy fields was initially unclear. The alleged perpetrator is said to be the son of the Nakano City Assembly Speaker.

The police had received an emergency call the afternoon of the previous day. According to media reports, an eyewitness described how a man chased a woman screaming for help, eventually grabbing her arm and stabbing the woman from behind in a parking lot. He then stabbed the 66-year-old in the chest.

The perpetrator was reportedly wearing camouflage clothing, a hat, sunglasses and a mask. Approached by the eyewitness, he allegedly said: “I killed her because I wanted to.” As he ran away, the eyewitness rushed home and alerted the police. When the officers drove up, the perpetrator, armed with a shotgun, immediately fired into the driver’s side of the patrol car, killing two police officers.

Japan enjoys a reputation as one of the safest countries in the world – thanks in part to strict firearms laws. But knife attacks have increased in recent years in the archipelago. (sda/dpa)