A SUSPECT alleged have gone on a knife rampage on a Tokyo train reportedly told cops he wanted to kill women who “looked happy”.
Ten people were wounded including a woman in her 20s, who was left with multiple stab wounds in her back and chest, during the attack in the Olympic city.
The attack took place Friday night around 8.30pm local time between Seijogakuen-mae station and Soshigaya-Okura station in the capital's Setagaya Ward.
Suspect Yusuke Tsushima, 36, was arrested as he tried to flee the scene.
"I began feeling like I wanted to kill women who looked happy about six years ago," he told police, the Sankei newspaper reports.
"Anyone was fine, I just wanted to kill a lot of people."
TBS television said the suspect stabbed a woman who happened to be seated near him in the carriage.
He also told police that he chose to stage the attack inside a train because it offered the chance to kill a large number of people.
The suspect was also carrying cooking oil and a lighter, with which he allegedly intended to set a fire inside the carriage, NHK reported, quoting police.
Authorities said the victims were rushed to hospital while one was able to walk away.
A witness at a nearby station where the train eventually halted said he saw panicked passenger bolt of out the carriages.
SMEARED IN BLOOD
Another told broadcaster NHK that commuters were smeared with blood and that an announcement was made calling on doctors on board and passengers with towels to help, according to the Independent.
The train was brought to an emergency stop after the rail operator was alerted, Al Jazeera reports.
The broadcaster added that the suspect was caught after storming into a convenience store and telling people he was fed up of running away.
The store manager saw the 20-something-year-old covered in blood and called police.
The man left what was believed to be the weapon and a mobile phone on the train, one source told The Japan Times.
There were no immediate details about the attacker or a motive.
Dozens of police and paramedics rushed to the crime scene near Seijogakuen-Mae station, according to the railway operator, Odakyu Electric Railway Company.
Police declined to comment and no other details were immediately available.
Seijogakuen-Mae station is only a few miles away from the Tokyo 2020 Olympic stadium, where sporting events draw to a close on Sunday.
Despite a usually low crime rate, Japan has seen a number of mass-casualty knife attacks in recent years.
In May 2019, a 51-year-old man went on a stabbing spree in the city of Kawasaki, killing a man and 12-year-old school girl and injuring 15 other school students.
And in 2016, 19 residents at a care home for people with mental disabilities were stabbed to death by a former employee who confessed to the killing.
HOW YOU CAN GET HELP:
Women’s Aid has this advice for victims and their families:
- Always keep your phone nearby.
- Get in touch with charities for help, including the Women’s Aid live chat helpline and services such as SupportLine.
- If you are in danger, call 999.
- Familiarise yourself with the Silent Solution, where you call 999 and press ‘55’ if you can’t safely speak.
- Always keep some money or a bank card on you, including change in case you need a pay phone or bus fare.
- If you suspect your partner is about to attack you, try to move towards an exit if you are inside the house and get your phone in case you need to call for help.
- Avoid the kitchen and garage, where there are likely to be knives or other potential weapons. Avoid rooms where you might become trapped, such as the bathroom.
Women’s Aid provides a live chat service – available every day from 10am-6pm or email [email protected]
SupportLine is open Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 6pm to 8pm on 01708 765200. The charity’s email support service is open weekdays and weekends during the crisis – [email protected].
You can also call the freephone 24-hour National Domestic Abuse Helpline on 0808 2000 247.
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