Kumamoto: Man suspected in stabbing dies after being shot by police

KUMAMOTO (TR) – Kumamoto Prefectural Police shot a man, who later died, after he allegedly wounded one officer and another man with a knife in Kumamoto City on Monday, police said, reports the Asahi Shimbun (May 29).

At around 4:30 p.m., the suspect, 36, allegedly used a knife with a 15-centimeter-long blade to slash a man, 65, at a parking lot of a residence in Higashi Ward during a quarrel. The perpetrator then chased another man to a location about 400 meters away from the parking lot, near a fire station.

Two officers responding to a distress call arrived at the scene. After one of the officers ordered the suspect to stop, he slashed him on the face with the knife during an ensuing scuffle. The officer, 40, then fired five shots, four of which struck the perpetrator in the upper body and right arm.

At 5:44 p.m., the suspect was confirmed dead at a hospital. Police did not confirm the cause of death.

Prior to being transported to the hospital, the suspect was arrested for violating the Swords and Firearms Control Law. Police are now investigating whether to apply charges of attempted murder to the suspect.

The man who was slashed at the parking lot suffered light injuries, police said. The other man who was chased to near the fire station managed to take refuge in an office,

“I think the use of a handgun was inevitable in a situation where the lives of victims and police officers were in danger,” said Shingo Eto, the vice chief of the Kumamoto-Higashi Police Station. “But are confirming the facts of the case.”