Police officers secure the area near a house where an armed man took a hostage in Fujimino, Saitama Prefecture, near Tokyo, with the standoff extending into the morning of Jan. 28, 2022. (Photo by= Kyodo) |
[Asia News = Reporter Reakkana] SAITAMA: A 66-year-old man attacked three medical workers making a visit to his home near Tokyo on Thursday night, shooting at least one of them with what appeared to be a hunting gun and taking another of them hostage, police said, adding that the hostage was later confirmed dead. The 11-hour standoff came to an end early Friday after the police stormed the house in Fujimino, Saitama Prefecture, and arrested the man, who was identified as Hiroshi Watanabe, Kyodo reported.
The dead hostage was 44-year-old doctor Junichi Suzuki, the police said. The shot medical worker, a 41-year-old physiotherapist, remains unconscious. The three visited the house around 9 p.m. Thursday, apparently to express condolences over the recent death of the suspect's mother. They were in charge of home medical care for the mother, investigative sources said.
The third medical worker was also taken to hospital after being injured with tear gas spray, the police said. A resident in the neighborhood called the police after hearing loud bangs at about the same time. Local emergency workers also received a report from a person who said two people had been shot.