Tokyo: In a knife attack, a former employee killed 19 people and injured 25 at a care centre for the mentally disabled in Japan on Tuesday. The attack is being called country’s worst mass killing in decades.
The 26-year-old man, who had reportedly threatened to kill hundreds of disabled people earlier this year, later turned himself in at a police station, saying to officers: “I did it.” The man reportedly also said: “The disabled should all disappear.”
Authorities have identified the attacker as Satoshi Uematsu and said he had worked at the facility in Sagamihara, a city west of Tokyo, until February. Media reports said the man told police he had been fired and held a grudge against the care centre.
The attack started early morning when Uematsu allegedly broke a first-floor window to gain entry into the building. Public broadcaster NHK reported that he tied up one caregiver before starting to stab the residents.
A doctor at one of the hospitals where victims were taken for treatment said some had “deep stab” wounds to the neck.
“The patients are very shocked mentally, and they cannot speak now,” the doctor said to NHK.
The killing is being called the worst such incident in Japan since 1938, when a man went on a killing spree armed with an axe, sword and rifle, killing 30 people.