Japan arrests man in his 80s for shooting and hostage taking… “Dissatisfaction with the post office’s handling of traffic accidents”

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Suspect, previously involved in a physical accident with a post office delivery motorcycle
Post office to suspend all operations for 1-2 days to cooperate with investigation
Shooting into the examination room from outside the hospital building… He also admits to arson at his home.

On the 31st, a suspect in a shooting incident at a general hospital in Saitama Prefecture, central Japan, was arrested by the police. After shooting at the hospital, the suspect fled to a nearby post office and took hostage, but the two female employees who were held were reported to be safe.

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According to Jiji News Agency and NHK on the 1st, the police received a report at 1:15 p.m. the previous day at Toda Central General Hospital in Toda City, Saitama Prefecture, reporting a sound of gunshots presumed to have been caused by a firearm. done.

At the time, the Sankei Shimbun reported that the suspect fired a gun into the examination room from outside the hospital building. According to Saitama Prefectural Police, a male doctor in his 40s and a male patient in his 60s were injured, but their injuries were not life-threatening.

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The suspect fled with a firearm and took hostages at the Warabi Post Office in Warabi City, Saitama Prefecture, near the hospital, at around 2:15 p.m. After taking hostages for about eight hours, police entered the post office at around 10:20 p.m. and secured the suspect.

Japanese police arrested a suspect on charges of violating the Hostage Forcible Punishment Act. The suspect who was arrested red-handed is Tsuneo Suzuki (86), who lives in Toda City, but his occupation is not exactly known.

The suspect admitted to his charges during police interrogation and reportedly stated that he fired a firearm at Doda General Hospital and that he was involved in arson of his own apartment.

According to local police, the suspect fired a gun at the hospital and then fled to the nearby Warabi Post Office using a motorcycle. The people left behind at the post office at the time were employees in their 20s and 30s, and after the woman in her 20s was released, the woman in her 30s also ran away and was safe.

Police confiscated a handgun at the scene. It was confirmed that the suspect was in possession of not only several bullets, but also two weapons, a container that appeared to contain kerosene, and two 500ml plastic bottles filled with an unknown liquid.

The police are investigating the suspect’s motive for the crime, whether it was planned, and the contents of the liquid.

Regarding the motive for the crime, the Sankei Shimbun reported that in a conversation with the police before arrest, the suspect explained that he had caused material damage in the past with a vehicle driven by the same post office employee, and that he was dissatisfied with the response. NHK also reported that before the suspect was arrested, he gave an explanation to the effect that ‘there was an accident with a post office delivery motorcycle last year and there was dissatisfaction with the response.’

Meanwhile, during the suspect’s sit-in protest, gunfire was heard at the post office, and local police asked nearby residents to evacuate.

According to the Toda City Board of Education, at a total of 18 elementary and middle schools in the city, students were once waiting in classrooms, but teachers led them out of class after 4 p.m. Warabi City also took measures such as mass dismissal from elementary and middle schools.

According to Japan Post, Warabi Post Office will suspend counter services and ATM operations all day on the 1st and 2nd to cooperate with the investigation. NHK reported that after the 3rd, sales will be judged based on the future situation.

Source: Donga

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