Japan knife attack: At least 19 dead

Japan knife attack: At least 19 dead

By Euan McKirdy and Emanuella Grinberg, CNN

Updated 1718 GMT (0118 HKT) July 26, 2016

Disabled targeted in deadly attack in Japan

Source: CNN
Disabled targeted in deadly attack in Japan 01:59
Story highlights

Residents of disabled residential facility are attacked, at least 19 killed
Man in custody in Sagamihara after turning himself in

(CNN)At least 19 people were killed and 26 injured in a stabbing spree at a facility for disabled people west of Tokyo, making it one of Japan's deadliest mass killings since World War II. Nine men and 10 women, ranging in age from 18 to 70, were killed in the attack.
Officer Satomi Kurihara of the Sagamihara Fire Department confirmed the death toll at the Tsukui Yamayuri-en facility in Sagamihara, a residential area approximately 40 kilometers (25 miles) west of the capital.

Satoshi Uematsu, a 26-year-old who worked at the facility until February, broke in through a window about 2 a.m. Tuesday (1 p.m. ET Monday), Kanagawa Prefecture officials said at a news conference.
The facility is home to 149 residents and situated in a bucolic mountain town. About one-third of the residents are elderly.<br />
Photos: Japan knife attack
The facility is home to 149 residents and situated in a bucolic mountain town. About one-third of the residents are elderly.
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Following the attack, rescue personnel fill the facility, which is in Sagamihara, Kanagawa prefecture. More than 200 people work at the care center, but only nine -- one of whom was a security guard -- were on the premises when the incident occurred.
Photos: Japan knife attack
Following the attack, rescue personnel fill the facility, which is in Sagamihara, Kanagawa prefecture. More than 200 people work at the care center, but only nine -- one of whom was a security guard -- were on the premises when the incident occurred.
Hide Caption
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A convoy of media broadcast vans converges on the scene of the crime, which sent shock waves through Japan, where gun ownership is highly restricted and mass killings are rare.
Photos: Japan knife attack
A convoy of media broadcast vans converges on the scene of the crime, which sent shock waves through Japan, where gun ownership is highly restricted and mass killings are rare.
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Uematsu's motivation is still unknown, but according to The New York Times' Tokyo bureau chief Motoko Rich, the suspect had taken a letter to the Japanese parliament discussing the possible use of euthanasia for the disabled.
Photos: Japan knife attack
Uematsu's motivation is still unknown, but according to The New York Times' Tokyo bureau chief Motoko Rich, the suspect had taken a letter to the Japanese parliament discussing the possible use of euthanasia for the disabled.
Hide Caption
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Journalists congregate outside the Tsukui Yamayuri-en center, a care facility for the mentally disabled 25 miles west of Tokyo, where a man with a knife killed 19 and injured 26 people during a rampage early Tuesday, July 26.
Photos: Japan knife attack
Journalists congregate outside the Tsukui Yamayuri-en center, a care facility for the mentally disabled 25 miles west of Tokyo, where a man with a knife killed 19 and injured 26 people during a rampage early Tuesday, July 26.
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Investigators cover the entrance of the Tsukui Yamayuri-en center following the attack. Among the dead were nine men and 10 women, ranging in age from 18 to 70.
Photos: Japan knife attack
Investigators cover the entrance of the Tsukui Yamayuri-en center following the attack. Among the dead were nine men and 10 women, ranging in age from 18 to 70.
Hide Caption
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Police officers cordon off the entrance to the Tsukui Yamayuri-en center. The attacker has been identified as 26-year-old Satoshi Uematsu, a man who had worked at the facility until February. After breaking in through a window and carrying out the attack, Uematsu turned himself into local police, officials said.
Photos: Japan knife attack
Police officers cordon off the entrance to the Tsukui Yamayuri-en center. The attacker has been identified as 26-year-old Satoshi Uematsu, a man who had worked at the facility until February. After breaking in through a window and carrying out the attack, Uematsu turned himself into local police, officials said.
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Ambulance crews are seen working outside the facility, now the site of one of Japan's deadliest mass killings since World War II.
Photos: Japan knife attack
Ambulance crews are seen working outside the facility, now the site of one of Japan's deadliest mass killings since World War II.
Hide Caption
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The facility is home to 149 residents and situated in a bucolic mountain town. About one-third of the residents are elderly.<br />
Photos: Japan knife attack
The facility is home to 149 residents and situated in a bucolic mountain town. About one-third of the residents are elderly.
Hide Caption
5 of 8
Following the attack, rescue personnel fill the facility, which is in Sagamihara, Kanagawa prefecture. More than 200 people work at the care center, but only nine -- one of whom was a security guard -- were on the premises when the incident occurred.
Photos: Japan knife attack
Following the attack, rescue personnel fill the facility, which is in Sagamihara, Kanagawa prefecture. More than 200 people work at the care center, but only nine -- one of whom was a security guard -- were on the premises when the incident occurred.
Hide Caption
6 of 8
A convoy of media broadcast vans converges on the scene of the crime, which sent shock waves through Japan, where gun ownership is highly restricted and mass killings are rare.
Photos: Japan knife attack
A convoy of media broadcast vans converges on the scene of the crime, which sent shock waves through Japan, where gun ownership is highly restricted and mass killings are rare.
Hide Caption
7 of 8
Uematsu's motivation is still unknown, but according to The New York Times' Tokyo bureau chief Motoko Rich, the suspect had taken a letter to the Japanese parliament discussing the possible use of euthanasia for the disabled.
Photos: Japan knife attack
Uematsu's motivation is still unknown, but according to The New York Times' Tokyo bureau chief Motoko Rich, the suspect had taken a letter to the Japanese parliament discussing the possible use of euthanasia for the disabled.
Hide Caption
8 of 8
Journalists congregate outside the Tsukui Yamayuri-en center, a care facility for the mentally disabled 25 miles west of Tokyo, where a man with a knife killed 19 and injured 26 people during a rampage early Tuesday, July 26.
Photos: Japan knife attack
Journalists congregate outside the Tsukui Yamayuri-en center, a care facility for the mentally disabled 25 miles west of Tokyo, where a man with a knife killed 19 and injured 26 people during a rampage early Tuesday, July 26.
Hide Caption
1 of 8
Investigators cover the entrance of the Tsukui Yamayuri-en center following the attack. Among the dead were nine men and 10 women, ranging in age from 18 to 70.
Photos: Japan knife attack
Investigators cover the entrance of the Tsukui Yamayuri-en center following the attack. Among the dead were nine men and 10 women, ranging in age from 18 to 70.
Hide Caption
2 of 8
Police officers cordon off the entrance to the Tsukui Yamayuri-en center. The attacker has been identified as 26-year-old Satoshi Uematsu, a man who had worked at the facility until February. After breaking in through a window and carrying out the attack, Uematsu turned himself into local police, officials said.
Photos: Japan knife attack
Police officers cordon off the entrance to the Tsukui Yamayuri-en center. The attacker has been identified as 26-year-old Satoshi Uematsu, a man who had worked at the facility until February. After breaking in through a window and carrying out the attack, Uematsu turned himself into local police, officials said.
Hide Caption
3 of 8
Ambulance crews are seen working outside the facility, now the site of one of Japan's deadliest mass killings since World War II.
Photos: Japan knife attack
Ambulance crews are seen working outside the facility, now the site of one of Japan's deadliest mass killings since World War II.
Hide Caption
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Police said they received a call from an employee of the facility reporting the attack, according to state broadcaster NHK.
About 3 a.m., Uematsu turned himself in at the Sagamihara police station, carrying a bloodstained knife and cloth, officials said.
Former employee
He had been working there since 2012, Motoko Rich, the New York Times' Tokyo bureau chief, told CNN. It is unclear what he did there, nor if he resigned or was fired from his job at the home.
He had trained to be a teacher and former colleagues said he was personable and good with children. Neighbors were shocked to hear of his involvement in the incident.
Journalists gather at the main gate of the Tsukui Yamayuri-en care center
Journalists gather at the main gate of the Tsukui Yamayuri-en care center
While the motivation for the attack remains unknown, Rich reported that the suspect had taken a letter to the Japanese legislature outlining a society in which euthanasia of the disabled was accepted.
The suspect handed a letter to staff at the official residence of Tadanori Oshima, the Chairman of the Lower House in Japan's parliament in February, the House's secretarial office has confirmed, but CNN has not been able to independently verify the contents of this letter.
Of the 26 injured, 13 are "severely" hurt, according to a local fire official. Ten suffered moderate injuries and the remaining three minor injuries. They are being treated in a number of local hospitals.
Rescue workers are seen at the Tsukui Yamayuri-en care center
Rescue workers are seen at the Tsukui Yamayuri-en care center
In a brief press conference, Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga confirmed that there was no terror link with ISIS.
He added that the government would analyze information from the city government and the police department, and that the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare would ensure this kind of incident does not happen again.
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Serene location
The 7.5-acre site in the bucolic mountain town is home to 149 residents, ranging in age from teenagers to those in their 70s, according to the Kanagawa prefectural website. It can house a total of 160 people. Just under a third of those living at the facility are elderly.
A total of 222 people work at the facility, but only nine -- one of whom was a security guard -- were on the premises when the incident occurred.
The incident sent shockwaves through Japan, where gun ownership is highly restricted and mass killings are rare.
In June 2001, eight children were killed when a former janitor entered an Ikeda elementary school in Osaka and began stabbing students at random.
In June 2008, a man ran over a group of people with his truck and then stabbed 18, killing seven, in Tokyo's famous Akihabara gaming district.
The last time Sagamihara made global headlines was in 2012 when Naoko Kikuchi, a member of the Japanese doomsday cult responsible for the 1995 nerve gas attack on the Tokyo subway, was arrested there. The attack killed 13 people and injured more than 5,500 people.
The cult, Aum Shinrikyo, was responsible for another sarin gas attack the previous year that killed seven people and sickened some 200 more.

CNN's Junko Ogura and journalist Naomi Fan in Hong Kong contributed to this report.