World
Japan suffered its worst mass killing in decades after a man launched a knife attack at a facility for the disabled in Sagamihara on Tuesday, killing 19 people and injuring about 26 others. The 26-year-old attacker, who reportedly wanted the people with disabilities to “disappear,” surrendered at a nearby police station and admitted to the killings.
The attacker, identified as Satoshi Uematsu, is believed to be a former employee of the facility, notes The Guardian. Uematsu was armed with a “bag full of knives and other sharp-edged tools” when he turned himself in. Police said they were yet to determine the motive of the attack even as unconfirmed reports suggested that the man had been upset after being fired.
The state-run facility, about 50km west of Tokyo, had nearly160 residents at the time of attack. The dead ranged in age from 18 to 70 and included nine men and 10 women.
Japan, which has extremely strict gun control laws, has rarely seen such incidents of mass killing, writes the BBC. More than seven years ago, a man rammed his truck into a busy shopping zone at Akihabara in Tokyo, before jumping out and stabling seven people to death.
