Man arrested after injuring 10 with knife on Tokyo train
Tokyo, Aug 7 (AP): Japanese police said Saturday they arrested a man who stabbed 10 passengers on a commuter train in Tokyo hours earlier, in what public broadcaster NHK reported to be a random burst of violence unrelated to the ongoing Olympic Games.
The 36-year-old man told police he wanted to kill women who appeared happy, and chose his targets at random, NHK said. The initial victim, a woman in her 20s, was in serious condition, according to NHK and other Japanese media.
The Tokyo Fire Department said nine of the 10 injured passengers were taken to nearby hospitals, while the 10th was able to walk away. All of the injured were conscious, fire department officials said.
The Japanese capital is currently hosting the Olympics, which end Sunday. The site of the stabbing spree was about 15 kilometers (9 miles) away from the main National Stadium.
NHK said the suspect left his knife behind as he fled, and later walked into a convenience store and identified himself as the suspect on the news, and said he was tired of running away. The store manager called police after seeing bloodstains on the man's shirt.
TBS television said he told police he developed the intent to kill women who looked happy, and 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.
A witness at a nearby station where the train stopped said passengers were rushing out of the carriages, shouting that there was a stabbing and asking for first aid. Another witness told NHK that he saw passengers smeared with blood come out of the train, as an announcer asked for doctors and for passengers carrying towels.
Dozens of paramedics and police arrived at the station, one of the witnesses said.
The stabbing occurred near Seijogakuen station, according to railway operator Odakyu Electric Railway Co.
While shooting deaths are rare in Japan, the country has had a series of high-profile killings with knives in recent years.
In 2019, a man carrying two knives attacked a group of schoolgirls waiting at a bus stop just outside Tokyo, killing two people and injuring 17 before killing himself. In 2018, a man killed a passenger and injuring two others in a knife attack on a bullet train. In 2016, a former employee at a home for the disabled allegedly killed 19 people and injured more than 20. (AP)
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2nd bomb threat in 36 hours triggers security sweep at Kanpur Railway Station; no explosives found
Kanpur (PTI): A bomb threat for the second time within 36 hours triggered a massive security operation at Kanpur Central Railway Station on Friday evening, though extensive searches later found no suspicious object, police said.
An emergency call was received at the 112 control room around 7 pm, warning that the railway station would be blown up, said Deputy Commissioner of Police (East) Satyajeet Gupta.
The alert prompted an immediate high-security response, with senior police and administrative officials, heavy police force, the Bomb Disposal Squad (BDS), anti-sabotage check teams, and dog squads rushing to the station, he added.
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Police and security teams conducted intensive checks across all platforms, circulating areas, waiting halls, parcel offices, and parking zones to rule out any threat.
All suspicious items were examined, and passenger movement was closely monitored during the operation. No explosive material or objectionable object was found, the official said.
This was the second bomb scare at the station in less than 36 hours. A similar threat call had been made on Thursday at around 8.30 am, leading to a full-scale security check.
During the investigation into Friday's call, police traced the phone number to a man identified as Anil. During questioning, he told officers that his mobile phone had been missing since February 24, raising suspicion that the threat may have been issued using the lost device, Gupta told mediapersons.
Police are analysing call detail records and scanning CCTV camera footage to identify the actual caller, he said.
