Policeman, Citizen Dead in Stabbing, Shooting in Central Japan

June 26, 2018

Toyama- A former Self-Defense Forces officer stabbed a police officer to death at a police box, stole his gun and shot dead a citizen in the central Japan city of Toyama on Tuesday.

After the attack in the police box at around 2 p.m. (5 a.m. GMT), the police officer, Kenichi Inaizumi, 46, was confirmed dead at a hospital, according to the Toyama prefectural police department. He was stabbed dozens of times and died of hemorrhagic shock.

With the officer's gun, the assailant opened fire at Shinichi Nakamura, a 68-year-old security guard at an elementary school about 100 meters away from the police box, and killed him, according to investigative sources. He died of head injury.

Another police officer came to the school, shot the man in the left side of his abdomen and arrested him on charges of attempted murder. He was sent to hospital and was in serious condition, the sources said.

The man was identified as Keita Shimazu, a 21-year-old resident in Toyama Prefecture. According to an SDF source, Shimazu worked at the Ground SDF's Camp Kanazawa in neighboring Ishikawa Prefecture for two years until he resigned in March 2017.

After taking the gun, he is believed to have intruded into the premises of the elementary school. He had two knives with him, the sources said. Another knife was found near the police box.

"It's regrettable that a gun was used after being seized from a police officer," Tomohiro Yamada, chief of the prefectural police department, said at a press conference.

Yamada apologized for great concern being caused among nearby residents.

The police box is located some one kilometer northeast of Toyama Station of West Japan Railway Co. <9021>, or JR West. Jiji Press