AFP | Tokyo
Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com
A suspected gunman took an unspecified hostage inside a Japanese post office after a suspected shooting at a nearby hospital, authorities said Tuesday.
“Around 2:15 p.m. today (05:15 Japan time), an incident occurred in which a hostage was taken and barricaded at a post office in the Chuo 5-chome area of Warabi City.The culprit was in possession of something that looked like a gun. ” city officials said on their website.
“Residents near the scene are urged to follow police instructions and evacuate.”
Yomiuri reported that about 10 post office employees may be inside the building.
Yomiuri also reported, without citing sources, that there was speculation that the man was carrying kerosene.
According to TBS, police asked 300 residents in nearby areas to evacuate.
Several police cars surrounded the post office.
The incident occurred as police were investigating a mass shooting that occurred in the nearby Toda town on the outskirts of Tokyo earlier that day.
Two people suffered minor injuries in the incident, but the circumstances of their injuries were unclear.
It was also unclear whether the two incidents were related.
Television footage showed a man wearing a baseball cap and a white shirt under a black coat with what appeared to be a gun attached to a cord around his neck inside the post office.
In Japan, violent crime has almost disappeared due to strict regulations on gun ownership.
Japan has one of the lowest murder rates in the world.
However, in recent years, violent crimes such as gun attacks have been making headlines in the country, with the assassination of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in July last year being particularly noteworthy.
Tetsuya Yamagami, the suspected assassin of Prime Minister Abe, reportedly targeted Abe over his ties to the Unification Church.
In April, a man was arrested on suspicion of throwing an explosive at Prime Minister Fumio Kishida during a campaign in Wakayama. Kishida was unharmed.
The following month, a man barricaded himself in a building after killing four people, including two police officers and an elderly woman, in a gun and knife attack.
Police said Masanori Aoki, 31, was detained at his home outside the farm near Nakano City, Nagano Prefecture.
Two women and two police officers were killed in the attack.