Police in Gifu City have arrested five 19-year-old youths on suspicion of killing an 81-year-old homeless man in March.

According to police, the five suspects ― who cannot be named because they are minors ― are all friends. Two of them are private university students and the other three are company employees.

Police said they are accused of killing Tetsuya Watanabe, who slept under a bridge, by throwing stones at him and beating him about the head at around 2 a.m. on March 25. He was found dead on a nearby road where the gang chased him. A 68-year-old woman who had been living with Watanabe under the bridge for the past 20 years, fled and called police.

Police said the five suspects were identified through an analysis of surveillance camera footage taken near the bridge.

Local media reported that Watanabe and the woman had contacted police in mid-March and said someone had thrown stones at them on four occasions.

© Japan Today