Chiba police: 1 dead, 3 injured after stabbing at restaurant

CHIBA (TR) – Chiba Prefectural Police have arrested a former city councilman after a stabbing at a restaurant in Chiba City on Sunday left one member of a family dead and three others injured, reports NHK (May 14).

At around 7:00 p.m., the former city councilman wielded a knife in stabbing a man, his wife and their two children, aged 1 and 6, at a table at the izakaya restaurant in Inage Ward.

The 6-year-old girl, an elementary school student, was stabbed in the back. She was later confirmed dead at a hospital. Meanwhile, the man and woman suffered wounds in multiple locations of the upper body. The 1-year-old girl received light injuries to her forehead and face, according to police.

After a staff member apprehended the former city councilman, believed to be in his 30s or 40s, police arrested him on suspicion of attempted murder. He has declined to comment on the allegations, police said.

According to the male victim, the suspect is his wife’s older brother. “Since he came out from Okinawa, we decided to dine out together,” the man said. “All of a sudden, he let out a cry and started stabbing.”