Schoolgirl fatally stabbed in south-west Japan: Local media

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Violent crime is rare in Japan, which has strict gun control laws, but there are occasional stabbings and even shootings.

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TOKYO – A junior high school student was stabbed to death and another wounded on Dec 14 night by an unknown assailant at a McDonald’s restaurant in south-western Japan, local media reported.

The students were rushed to hospital after the stabbing in the city of Kitakyushu in Fukuoka prefecture, the Jiji news agency said.

The female student died, while the other victim, a boy, was conscious, it added.

A male suspect fled the scene at around 8.30pm (7.30pm Singapore time) and police were searching for him, according to Jiji.

The suspect is believed to be armed with a knife, it said, citing police.

Violent crime is rare in Japan, which has strict gun control laws. But there are occasional stabbings and even shootings, including the

assassination of former prime minister Shinzo Abe

in 2022.

In 2019, two people including a schoolgirl were stabbed to death and more than a dozen wounded in the Japanese city of Kawasaki in a rampage by an attacker, who targeted children as they waited for a bus.

The 51-year-old attacker slashed at a group of children before fatally stabbing himself in the neck. AFP


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