The suspect of a fatal shooting and stabbing in Nakano, Japan has been taken into police custody, according to Japan’s NHK public television.
The suspect barricaded himself inside a building with a rifle and knife, police said following a rare act of violence for the country occurred on Thursday, leaving three people dead, including two police officers.
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Police added the three victims were taken to a nearby hospital, but we later pronounced dead. Kyodo News reports a fourth person was injured but his proximity to the suspect meant he could not be rescued.
A Nakano City police official told CNN they received a call on Thursday afternoon, local time, of reports a “man stabbed a woman”.
The official added when police rushed to the scene, the suspect fired something which they believed looked like a hunting rifle, striking four people before locking himself inside the building.
It’s reported two women escaped the house where the suspect has held himself in.
A witness speaking to NHK public television said a woman fell by being chased by the suspect who then stabbed her with a knife and shot at two police officers as they arrived at the scene.
The witness says he asked the suspect what his motive for the attack was on the woman, which he replied he wanted to kill her, NHK reported.
Police have described the suspect as a man wearing a camouflage outfit, a hat, a mask and sunglasses, Kyodo News said.
A no-go zone has been set up by police in the area within a 300-metre radius of the site, and city officials urged people in the area to stay home.
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