Man arrested over fatal stabbing of Japan teen – media

Members of media are seen in front of a McDonald’s branch where a junior high school student was stabbed to death in Kitakyushu city, Fukuoka prefecture on December 15, 2024. Agence France-Presse

TOKYO — A man was arrested Thursday over the fatal stabbing of a junior high school student and the wounding of another at a McDonald’s in southwest Japan, local media reported.

Violent crime is rare in Japan, but there are occasional stabbings and even shootings, including the 2022 assassination of former prime minister Shinzo Abe.

The teens were in line to order at around 8:30 pm on Saturday when the attacker reportedly entered the restaurant in the city of Kitakyushu and wordlessly stabbed them both.

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Police have arrested a man in his 40s who lives nearby, public broadcaster NHK and other media outlets said. Officers could not immediately confirm the reports to AFP.

The school the boy and girl attended was closed on Monday, and some residents told local media they feared going outside after the attack, which may have been random.

In 2019, two people including a schoolgirl were stabbed to death and more than a dozen wounded in Japan’s Kawasaki in a rampage by an attacker who targeted children waiting for a bus.

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The 51-year-old attacker in that incident also fatally stabbed himself.