The scene of Tuesday's stabbing rampage in Kawasaki Photo: KYODO

16 schoolgirls, 2 adults stabbed in rampage in Kawasaki; 1 child, 1 man dead

KAWASAKI Sixteen pupils waiting for their school bus and two adults were stabbed by a man wielding knives in Kawasaki near Tokyo on Tuesday morning, leaving one girl and a man dead, police said.
The 16 schoolgirls, pupils of Caritas elementary school, a private Catholic school in the city, were attacked by the suspect in his 50s, who was holding knives in both hands. The suspect died in hospital as a result of a self-inflicted stab wound to the neck, police said.
The incident occurred at around 7:40 a.m. on a street near a park in a residential area, about 250 meters from Noborito Station on East Japan Railway Co.'s Nambu Line and Odakyu Electric Railway Co.'s Odakyu Odawara Line.
According to eyewitnesses, the suspect slowly approached the children and was shouting "I'm gonna kill you" during the rampage. He had close-cropped hair and was wearing glasses.
The police retrieved two knives at the scene and were attempting to identify the suspect.
Of the victims, an 11-year-old girl, identified as sixth-grader Hanako Kuribayashi of Tokyo, and a 39-year-old man believed to be the father of another pupil, died in hospital from deep stab wounds to their necks, according to police and hospital officials.
Two girls and a woman in her 40s sustained serious injuries in the attack, the police said.
Caritas school officials said they will hold a press conference from 6 p.m. after convening an emergency meeting with pupils' parents in the afternoon.
The school operator was founded by Soeurs de la Charite de Quebec, an organization of Catholic nuns in Quebec City in Canada, according to the school's website.
"I heard children scream 'I'm scared' and then turned to see a man with knives shouting, 'I'm gonna kill you,'" said Toshichika Ishii, 57, who was at a park near the site, adding that he had seen children falling to the ground.
Kazuhiro Yoshida, a 60-year-old bus driver for Caritas elementary school, said he got off his bus when he arrived near the scene and saw "pools of blood."
"A man in dark clothing was lying on the ground and did not move a bit," Yoshida said.
A woman in her 40s who lives near the scene said she saw a rescue worker conducting a cardiac massage on a girl and "blood flowing from a man in a suit crouching on the ground and forming a pool."
Condolences from Trump
U.S. President Donald Trump expressed his condolences to the victims of the stabbing.
"On behalf of the first lady and myself, I want to take a moment to send our prayers and sympathy to the victims of the stabbing attack this morning," Trump said in remarks during a visit to Yokosuka naval base.
"All Americans stand with the people of Japan and grieve for the victims and for their families," he said, referring to the rampage that took place earlier in the day.
Trump made the remarks as he visited a Japanese destroyer at the base. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who was alongside the U.S. leader and also made a speech, did not reference the attack at all.
 

Source: https://japantoday.com/category/crime/16-schoolgirls-2-adults-stabbed-in-rampage-in-Kawasaki-1-child-1-man-dead