Posted on 06/07/2008 11:01:07 PM PDT by LibWhacker
TOKYO (Reuters) - As many as five people might have died and at least 10 more were wounded after a man went on a knife rampage through Tokyo's popular electronics district on Sunday, a fire department official said.
The man, identified as a 25-year-old member of one of Japan's yakuza crime syndicates, began shouting and stabbing passers-by in the Akihabara area, NHK television reported, showing footage of several ambulances stopped in the district's crowded streets.
At least 15 people were stabbed and as many as five might have died, an official for the Tokyo Fire Department said.
Local media reported the man had been arrested, but a spokesman for the Tokyo police department was unable to confirm the arrest, or if the man was affiliated with an organized crime group.
One woman told NHK she saw a stabbing victim collapsed on the road, lying unconscious in a "large pool" of blood.
Akihabara, traditionally home to retailers of electronics and gadgets, has become synonymous in recent years with Japan's expansive "nerd" culture of video games, comic books and outlandish fashion.
Popular with locals and tourists, the area is often crowded on weekends.
(Reporting by David Dolan; Editing by David Fogarty)
Thank goodness for gun control.
I wonder if it was an unregistered knife.
If true that the perp is a member of a yakuza crime syndicate - he will never make to court.
For this public outrage - against innocent civilians, and drawing unwanted attention to the “syndicate” — this guy is already dead...... assuming the yakuza hasn’t gone soft in the past 30 years.
Would a guy with a knife be able to wound or kill 15 people in a society that allowed concealed carry?
won’t the loss of a couple of fingers suffice?
The fingers are for minor infractions.
When knives are outlawed, only outlaws will have Kobe steak.
Even with this incident, which country do you think has the higher crime rate?
If someone stabbed five people in Chicago, would it make international news?
I didn’t read it carefully. Fifteen people. Would be a bit of news.
Now 6 killed, 12 injured in stabbing rampage in Akihabara .
I just listened to the news on shortwave from Radio Australia. They said that the man drove a truck into a crowd, got out and started stabbing people. According to the news story, the attacker later told police that he did it because he was “tired of the war.” I had not heard that reported yet.
Is this the typical anti war protester of the future?
He’s tiring of the war so he finds a place full of people runs most over with a truck then gets out and starts killing as many as he can.
He must be a Yoko Ono Fan.
After listenig to Yoko, maybe it drove him nuts.
Japan must be very proud of its stringent gun laws today.
Here in Texas, the maniac might have gotten to the second victim, certainly no farther than the third, before someone pulled out a handgun and put an end to this lunacy.
Whether the attackers are terrorists with AKs or psychos with blades, unarmed citizens are sheep to the slaughter.
Which war?
The Myanmar Junta's war on the Burmese people. The conflict in Kasmir? The Tamil Tigers' attacks in Sri Lanka? The Chinese occupation of Tibet?
The World wonders.
CBS Radio reported that he said he was “tired of life”.
A man who is good with a knife can do an incedible amount of damage quickly and quietly. This man is a good example of that.
My personal opinion on knives, they are useful ONLY:
- When I’m out of rifle and pistol ammo.
- After I’ve thrown my rifle and pistol at the enemy.
- After I’ve thrown all grenades and triggered all Claymores.
- When enemy has been foolish enough to get close enough for me to stab the bastard, when a knife was the ONLY weapon at hand.
- If I’ve approached the enemy, and wanted to kill him quietly, so as not to disturb his many “friends”.
- My nails are dirty.
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