WEB DESK /
At least 19 people have been killed in a knife attack at a residential care centre for the disabled in the Japanese city of Sagamihara, reports Kyodo. The attack happened in the early hours today. Another 26 people were reportedly injured, 20 seriously. Local police have arrested a male suspect after he turned himself in. The man is said to be aged 26, and is a former employee at the the Tsukui Yamayuri Garden facility, south-west of Tokyo.
Police arrested Satoshi Uematsu, a 26-year-old former employee of the facility in the city of Sagamihara, as he turned himself in to a local police station at around 3 a.m., about 15 minutes after the facility staff alerted the police about the stabbing spree. Twenty five people have been injured, 20 of them seriously, police said.
He is reported to have told police he wanted disabled people to disappear. The attacker entered the facility at about 02:30 local time and began stabbing those inside. Eight staff were on duty at the time at the centre, which houses 149 permanent residents.
Uematsu admitted that he stabbed people with knives and was also quoted as saying to the police, “It’s better that the disabled disappear.” Police said Uematsu has a record of being committed to a mental hospital.
photo- Kyodu