Tokyo, One female student and a man were killed and 16 others injured in a mass stabbing spree in the Japanese city of Kawasaki on Tuesday, police said, adding the attacker after the incident turned the knife on himself and died.
The female victim and 14 of the injured were students of the Caritas elementary school, a private Catholic school in Kawasaki. The suspect, a man in his 50s, was holding knives in both hands and stabbed the victims before stabbing himself in the neck, the police said.
The suspect died after being taken to a hospital, reports Kyodo News.
Kanagawa Prefectural Police officials said the victims were waiting at a school bus stop in Tama Ward near Noborito Station when the incident took place.
Authorities have found two knives at the site that appeared to have been used in the attack.
“I heard fire engines coming in the morning and I saw a man lying on the ground bleeding,” a witness told public broadcaster NHK. “I saw many elementary school children lying on the ground near a school bus stop. School rucksacks were scattered all over the place.
“There was another man lying on the ground bleeding at a municipal-run bus stop near the school’s bus stop,” the witness added.
The man has been confirmed dead.
Mass stabbings are rare in Japan and make national headlines, CNN reported.
In 2016, 19 people were killed in a stabbing spree at a care home for disabled people. It was the deadliest mass killing in Japan since the end of World War II.
The incident took place during US President Donald Trump’s visit to the country.
Speaking aboard a Japanese helicopter carrier, Trump said that “all Americans stand with the people of Japan and grieve for the victims and for their families”.
