Stabbing spree in Japan leaves at least 19 dead, dozens injured

[Ceewan]

TOKYO (Kyodo) -- A knife-wielding man went on a stabbing rampage at a residential care facility for the disabled in Kanagawa Prefecture west of Tokyo early Tuesday, killing at least 19 people and injuring 26 others, 20 of them seriously, police and firefighters said.

Kanagawa prefectural police arrested Satoshi Uematsu, 26, who drove to the Tsukui Police Station and turned himself around 3 a.m. Tuesday, saying "I did it."

"It's better that the disabled disappear," the police quoted him as saying.

Uematsu, who said he was a former employee of the facility in the city of Sagamihara and a resident of the city, had a bag full of knives and other edged tools, some bloodstained, when he turned himself in.

The police arrested him on suspicion of attempted murder and unlawful entry to a building.

The police are investigating the motive behind the attack that took place at the Tsukui Yamayuri En (Tsukui Lily Garden) facility around 2:30 a.m., they added.

According to its website, the residential care facility for the disabled was set up by the Kanagawa prefectural government and run by a social welfare corporation. It has about a 30,000-square-meter total site area and can accommodate up to 160 people.

As of the end of April, it had 149 residents between 19 and 75 years of age, with 40 of them believed to be over 60.

The facility is located about 50 kilometers from downtown Tokyo and is near private residences and an elementary school.

After the news about the stabbing rampage spread, families of the residents as well as neighbors of the facility flocked to the facility to get information about the residents' condition, saying they had received no information from the facility.

 

[kharo88]

I don't even have words for this... I just hope he gets sentenced to death.

 

[Ceewan]

Letter by suspect in stabbing rampage carried a warning


TOKYO —

The 26-year-old man accused of carrying out a mass stabbing Tuesday at a Japanese facility for the mentally disabled that left 19 people dead had written a letter in February to parliament’s lower house speaker, outlining what was similar to Tuesday’s attack, and expressing his disturbing views. A translation follows:

___

Dear Lower House Speaker Tadamori Oshima,

Thank you very much for reading this letter. I can wipe out a total of 470 disabled individuals.

I am fully aware that my remark is eccentric. However, thinking about the tired faces of guardians, the dull eyes of caregivers working at the facility, I am not able to contain myself, and so I decided to take action today for the sake of Japan and the world.

My reasoning is that I may be able to revitalize the world economy and I thought it may be possible to prevent World War III.

I envision a world where a person with multiple disabilities can be euthanized, with an agreement from the guardians, when it is difficult for the person to carry out household and social activities.

I believe there is still no answer about the way of life for individuals with multiple disabilities. The disabled can only create misery.

I think now is the time to carry out a revolution and to make the inevitable but tough decision for the sake of all mankind. Let Japan take the first big step.

Would Mr. Tadamori Oshima, who bears the world, use his power to make the world proceed in a better direction?

I sincerely hope you would deliver this message to Mr. Shinzo Abe.

This is the answer I reached after serious thinking about what I can do for humankind.

Dear Lower House Speaker Tadamori Oshima, would you lend your power for the sake of dear Japan and all humankind?

Please give this full consideration.

Satoshi Uematsu

___

The Plot

It will be carried out during the night shift, when staffing is low.

The target will be two facilities where many multiply disabled people reside.

Staff on guard will be strapped with cable so they can’t move and can’t make contact with anyone outside.

The act will be carried out speedily, and definitely without harming the staff.

After wiping out the 260 people in two facilities, I will turn myself in.

In carrying out the act, I have several requests.

After my arrest, my incarceration should be up to two years, and please let me lead a free life afterward.

Innocence on grounds of insanity.

A new name (Takashi Iguro), government registration and documents such as a driver’s license needed for everyday life.

A disguise for regular society through plastic surgery.

Financial aid of 500 million yen ($5 million).

I would like these conditions to be promised.

If you can make your decision, I will carry it out at any time.

Please consider this fully for the sake of Japan and world peace.

I hope with all my heart that this can be discussed with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, although I am sorry to trouble him in an unimaginably busy schedule.

Satoshi Uematsu

(address, telephone number)

Worker at the Kanagawa Kyodokai

 

[Ceewan]

Car of suspect in Sagamihara killing spree found with multiple dents


SAGAMIHARA -- A car believed to belong to the suspect in a killing spree at a residential facility for people with mental disabilities was found with severe dents on the premises of the local police station.

The car was found in the parking lot of the Kanagawa Prefectural Police's Tsukui Police Station, where the suspect, 26-year-old Satoshi Uematsu, turned himself in shortly after the incident in the early hours of July 26.

Both the front and back of the black car, which has Sagami license plates, were severely damaged, and there were dents in the car that hinted that it had rammed into something numerous times.

There was blood on the steering wheel, while blood-stained towels and plastic bags were found on the passenger seat, and a partially eaten piece of bread and 1,000-yen bills were scattered on the driver's seat. In the car's drink holder was what looked like a canister of air freshener with blood on it. In the back seat, there were around 10 plastic cable ties stained with blood.

 

[Ceewan]

Alleged killer in massacre at home for disabled went for necks of victims




SAGAMIHARA -- Many of the people injured in a massacre at a facility for the intellectually disabled here on July 26 were stabbed in the neck, and some were knifed several times, indicating the killer acted with strong murderous intent, doctors said.

The injured people were rushed to six hospitals in Kanagawa Prefecture and the Tokyo metropolitan area, where doctors explained the tense situation.

Four people at the Sagamihara facility, Tsukui Yamayuri En (Tsukui Lily Garden), were taken to Tokyo Medical University Hachioji Medical Center in the western Tokyo city of Hachioji. They were identified as two men in their 20s and 40s, and two women in their 40s and 50s. They had been stabbed in the neck and upper body multiple times, leaving them unconscious. They received blood transfusions at a medical emergency center, and underwent emergency surgery to repair slashed blood vessels and halt bleeding.

Takao Arai, head of the emergency medical center, said in a news conference that the four were covered in blood, and some were groaning. All of them had been stabbed in the neck. In some cases, the stab wounds were as deep as four or five centimeters.

"It appears the killer went for the neck alone," Arai said. "It creates the impression that he acted with murderous intent."

Two 43-year-old victims were taken to the National Disaster Medical Center in the Tokyo city of Tachikawa. Center head Hiroshi Kato said that one of them was stabbed in more than three places, including the stomach, neck and hand. A stab wound to the stomach reached his internal organs, prompting an emergency laparotomy. The other person had been stabbed at least five times in the neck and had gone into shock due to loss of blood. He underwent emergency surgery and a blood transfusion. His clothes were covered in blood.

 

[Ceewan]

Neighbors describe alleged stabber at facility for disabled as 'cheerful'

The area where suspect Satoshi Uematsu's home lies is seen in the lower part of this image, and the Tsukui Yamayuri En facility for the disabled is seen in the upper part, in Sagamihara on July 26, 2016.

SAGAMIHARA -- Locals described a man arrested after the fatal stabbing of residents at a facility for the intellectually disabled here on July 26 as a "cheerful person" who was friendly with his neighbors.

Satoshi Uematsu, 26, was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder over the incident, which occurred at the Tsukui Yamayuri En (Tsukui Lily Garden) facility. Uematsu lived in a neighborhood around 500 meters to the southeast of the facility in a two-story house with weeds, apparently untended, growing around the entrance. According to a neighbor, until four or five years ago Uematsu lived there together with his parents, but since the parents moved to a Tokyo suburb Uematsu had been living there alone.

According to a 76-year-old man living nearby, Uematsu's father is an elementary school teacher, and Uematsu was also "trying to become a teacher and had taught in training at a nearby elementary school."

"He would say hello, and I heard that while he was training he was called a good teacher," said the man. He said that he was surprised when recently he saw Uematsu in front of his house and Uematsu's hair, which had been black until then, was dyed blonde.

Another man who lives nearby, aged 73, says, "The rumor in the neighborhood was that Uematsu quit his job after it was found out that he had tattoos." The man said he saw Uematsu sunbathing on a sheet out on the road in front of his house, and Uematsu had tattoos from his shoulders to his back.

The man said, "Just about five days ago Uematsu said hello to me. Sometimes his friends would come over and I would hear them chatting. I don't understand why such a cheerful person would do this."

 

[Ceewan]

Stabbing rampage suspect apparently tweeted message forewarning of crime


SAGAMIHARA -- The suspect in the deadly stabbing rampage here on July 26 apparently tweeted in February this year suggesting that he would commit a crime.

"I may be arrested," said a message posted on a Twitter account that appears to belong to Satoshi Uematsu, 26, under arrest over the stabbing spree in Sagamihara that left 19 people at a care home for the disabled dead and 26 others injured.

Tweets from the account began to appear on Dec. 14, 2014. At the time, tweets for the most part featured the account owner's interactions with friends at parties and wedding receptions.

He then posted a photo of his back with tattoos and a message saying that his employer found out about "them." He said he'd ride out the storm with a smile.

The account owner also tweeted on June 9, 2015, that "it's stupid to have prejudice. You only see your own worldview."

The tweets stopped for a while after the message, "I'd like to live with the goal of improving my spirit, technique and physical condition for fighting," was tweeted on Oct. 30 of that year.

The account owner then resumed his tweets about three months later. On Feb. 13 this year, he wrote, "I just have to act, although I'm not sure whether it's right."

On Feb. 19 he tweeted, "I've voluntarily resigned from my company. I may be arrested..." Earlier in the day, Uematsu quit his job at the care home, Tsukui Yamayuri En (Tsukui Lily Garden), in Sagamihara, as a result of delivering a letter to the official residence of the House of Representatives speaker hinting that he might commit mass murder of mentally disabled people.

At one point, Uematsu had aspired to become an elementary school teacher, and told those around him that he wanted to help others through his work. But his discriminatory attitudes showed signs of increasing when in July, a person believed to be Uematsu tweeted, "There are only old men and women in graying Japan," and "Spotted a fatso on the train."

In response to a deadly shooting incident in Munich, the account owner tweeted on July 23, "A shooting spree in Germany. It would've been fun if it had been a toy."

A tweet, "I pray for world peace. Beautiful Japan!!!!!!," which was apparently posted shortly before Uematsu turned himself in to police on July 26, was accompanied by a selfie showing him in a red tie and black suit, with a smile on his face.

When Uematsu was hospitalized in February as the result of an emergency decision made by the Sagamihara Municipal Government, his urine tested positive for marijuana. The background photo for the Twitter account believed to be that of the suspect is an image with a message that reads, "Marijuana is not dangerous."

 

[Ceewan]

Massacre suspect bound some night shift workers with cable ties


Satoshi Uematsu is seen in Yokohama on July 27, 2016

SAGAMIHARA, Kanagawa -- Some workers at a care home for the disabled where a massacre took place in the wee hours of July 26 had been bound by the suspect with cable ties, while one worker who managed to hide contacted colleagues on his mobile phone, the Mainichi Shimbun has learned from sources close to the facility.

According to Kanagawa Prefectural Police and sources related to care facility Tsukui Yamayuri En in the Kanagawa Prefecture city of Sagamihara, Satoshi Uematsu, 26, who has been sent to public prosecutors on suspicion of murder, entered the facility building at around 2 a.m. on July 26 by breaking a window of a room on the first floor of the east side residential building. He then stabbed dozens of people and left the facility premises about 50 minutes later through the second floor of the administration building on the west side after passing the first and second floors of the west side residential building. In less than an hour, Uematsu attacked a total of 45 people, of whom 19 are dead and 26 others injured.

Footage caught on care home security cameras showed the suspect on the first floor of the east side residential building at around 2:15 a.m. and on the second floor of the west side administration building near the main entrance about half an hour later.

There were eight workers on night shift at the time of the incident, and two staffers each were stationed on the first and second floors of both the east and west residential buildings. They were in guidance rooms at the time of the attack. Uematsu likely passed through several areas, except for the second floor of the east residential building, and there were six workers present in areas where he had walked through. Of these six staffers, two women on the first floor of the east residential building, two men on the first floor of the west residential building and another man on its second floor were tied to handrails and other places.

One remaining worker managed to hide and tried to contact his off-duty colleagues for help via the smartphone messenger app Line. When a co-worker called the unbound staffer, he whispered, "Something terrible is happening," and hung up. The colleague immediately called police at 2:38 a.m. -- the first report made over the incident.

In response to the report, the Tsukui Police Station called the facility to check what was going on but the call was not answered. The police station then dispatched a police car to the facility.

After another night shift worker called police at 2:45 a.m., saying that a knife-wielding man entered the facility and stabbed people, the Tsukui Police Station dispatched additional vehicles to the site. Uematsu, however, had already left the facility when officers arrived. He subsequently turned himself in at Tsukui Police Station at around 3 a.m.

 

[Ceewan]

Team to probe suspect's past hospitalization


NHK has learned that the Health Ministry will soon launch a team to investigate the past compulsory hospitalization of the suspect in Tuesday's knife attack at a facility for the disabled.

The attack by Satoshi Uematsu, a former worker at the facility, left 19 dead and 26 wounded.

Police say that in February the man went to the official residence of the speaker of the Lower House to deliver a letter hinting of the attack.

They say they received a report from the facility after Uematsu told colleagues that severely disabled people should be euthanized.

Sagamihara City, where the facility is located, had him admitted to a mental hospital in mid-February based on a diagnosis by a doctor. He was discharged 12 days later after another doctor stated that there was no longer a risk of him hurting others.

The Health Ministry will set up the team of specialists to investigate why and how the suspect was discharged. It will visit the hospital where he was admitted to check his case records and hear from the doctors as early as Friday.

The Ministry plans to hold a meeting of experts to come up with measures based on the investigation results in order to prevent a recurrence.


Man....I would seriously hate to be the doctor that discharged that guy from the hospital....his career is over. I bet his name makes the papers.....soon....and on the frontpage.

 

[fruxano]

I'm glad the death penalty still exists there...
I was so angry when I first read about this, that guy is inhuman.

And he was even trying to become a teacher, imagine that.

 

[Ceewan]

Gov't questions doctors at hospital that treated mass-murder suspect in Feb.


Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare officials on July 29 questioned doctors at a university hospital where care home mass murder suspect Satoshi Uematsu was committed for psychiatric treatment earlier this year.

Uematsu, 26, was committed to Kitasato University East Hospital in late February. On the authority of the Act on Mental Health and Welfare for the Mentally Disabled, ministry employees visited the hospital in Sagamihara, Kanagawa Prefecture, and questioned doctors and others for information on Uematsu's hospitalization there and the process that led to his release.

In a July 29 press conference, health minister Yasuhisa Shiozaki said that, to prevent a recurrence of this kind of attack, "the issue at hand is how to follow up on (psychiatric) patients after they have left hospital."

The ministry plans to review the system through which Uematsu was ordered committed. One aspect they will review is the fact that municipal employees who decide to send a person for compulsory hospitalization and when to release that person are present for the initial diagnosis, but not when the subject is being evaluated for release.

 

[WillEater]

Sociopaths do not know how crazy they are..

 

[Ceewan]

Massacre suspect went shopping after attacks covered in blood


SAGAMIHARA, Kanagawa -- The suspected attacker at a care home for the disabled here went shopping for snacks while covered in blood before turning himself in to police, it has been learned from an investigative source.

Satoshi Uematsu, 26, has been arrested and referred to prosecutors on suspicion of murder over the deaths of 19 people at the Tsukui Yamayuri En facility for the disabled. Uematsu turned himself in at Tsukui Police Station, but not before stopping at a convenience store to buy snacks while still having bloodstains on his clothing, according to the source.

At around 2:50 a.m. on July 26, just after the attack, Uematsu is thought to have gotten in a car parked near the facility, and at a little past 3 a.m. he turned himself in. Just before then, according to the source, he spent a few minutes at the store and bought some items including snacks, presenting a 1,000 yen bill with bloodstains on it to the cashier.

When he turned himself in, Uematsu had a bag with three knives in it and an injury to his arm that required three stitches. Inside the car he parked at the police station was scattered at least one bloodstained towel, bags and also partly eaten snacks, which he is thought to have bought at the store.