Two dead, one injured in 11-hour hostage incident in Japan

Tokyo: An old man attacked three doctors visiting his home in the Japanese prefecture of Saitama near Tokyo, shooting one of them with a hunting gun and allegedly killing another that was held hostage for over 11 hours, media reported on Friday.

According to Kyodo News Agency, the incident took place in the city of Fujimino outside Tokyo at around 21:00 (12:00 GMT) on Thursday. Law enforcers reportedly got a call from a local resident saying that he had heard loud bangs in a neighboring house. After that, the police received a report of two persons with gunshot wounds, the media said.

According to the materials of the investigation, three medical workers came to the man’s house allegedly to express condolences over the death of his elderly mother. One of the doctors reportedly received a gunshot wound to the abdomen. Another one was teargassed in the face. Both were later taken to the hospital. The medical worker remains unconscious after the gunshot, the media said.

The third doctor was reportedly held hostage by the man for almost 12 hours. According to Kyodo, police talked with the suspect by phone during the hostage incident, but the man made no specific demands.

On Friday morning, the police reportedly stormed the building and arrested the man on suspicion of abduction and attempted murder. The hostage was later confirmed dead, the newspaper reported, citing the police.

As a result of the incident, about 100 people were evacuated from neighboring houses and placed in school buildings nearby. Classes at three schools in the area were canceled on Friday.

The cause of the incident is still unknown.