KYODO NEWS - Jul 23, 2019 - 19:45 | All, Japan

The suspect in last week's deadly arson attack on a Kyoto Animation Co. studio may have walked for hours scouting the area and that of the nearby company headquarters the day before the fire, investigative sources said Tuesday.

Shinji Aoba, 41, who allegedly ignited the fire that left 34 people dead in the three-story studio building in Kyoto on Thursday, likely bought empty gasoline containers at a hardware store located directly 5 kilometers from the studio, put them on a handcart and pushed it all the way to the area of the targeted buildings, they said.

The walk could have taken more than an hour as anyone trying to get to the anime studio from the store needs to use a bridge to cross a river and to pass through a complex residential area.

Investigators have received eyewitness accounts placing a man resembling the suspect in the area on Wednesday, according to the sources.

Surveillance cameras at the hardware store captured a man believed to be Aoba in a red shirt and blue jeans purchasing the containers on Wednesday.

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There is no information indicating he used public transportation afterward, the sources said.

Another camera installed near the company's main office, which is about 1 km from the studio, also captured a similarly dressed man pushing a handcart around 2:30 p.m. Wednesday. Local residents reported seeing a man fitting the same description at a park near the studio later in the day, they said.

Investigators have found that Aoba, who is believed to have at one point resided in Saitama, near Tokyo, spent some time at an internet cafe in Kyoto several days before the arson attack. The police suspect he was using the internet to study areas around the studio.

On Thursday, Aoba is believed to have purchased and carried to the studio 40 liters of gasoline in the two cans on the cart, entered the studio screaming "Die!" and ignited about 10 liters of the fuel, resulting in the deaths of 21 women and 13 men aged between their 20s and 50s.

The usually closed security shutter of the studio's front entrance was open for visitors on the day of the attack. It is possible Aoba had confirmed the entrance was open prior to the attack, according to the sources.