Japan knife attack: At least 19 dead and 26 injured after stabbings at disability center near Tokyo

The suspect was later identified as 26-year-old Satoshi Uematsu, a former employer at the facility

(Kyodo via Reuters)

At least 19 people have been killed and 26 injured after an attacker stabbed people inside a facility for the disabled near Tokyo.

Police responded to the Tsukui Yamayuri-en in Sagamihara at 2:30am after a caller said a man with a knife broke into the building, NHK World reports. Law enforcement officials arrested the suspect after he turned himself into police at 3am.

The suspect is believed to be 26-year-old Satoshi Uematsu, a former employee at the facility, which is located 20 miles (30 kilometres) outside the Japanese capital and is home to nearly 150 patients. Police said the suspect told officials that he wanted to “get rid of the disabled from this world,” the Asahi Shimbun newspaper reported, and was in possession of knives and other sharp tools covered in blood.

Dozens of firetrucks and emergency officials were shown in images responding to the incident. A witness who lives nearby the facility said that she saw first responders arrive at the scene.

“I was told by a policeman to stay inside my house, as it could be dangerous,” she told NHK. “Then ambulances began arriving, and blood-covered people were taken away.”

The White House condemned the attack and offered condolences to the families of the victims.

“The United States offers our deepest condolences to the families and loved ones of those killed in the heinous attack today in Sagamihara, Japan,” National Security Spokesperson Ned Price said in a statement.

“We also pray for the speedy recovery of the dozens of individuals who were wounded. There is never any excuse for such violence, but the fact that this attack occurred at a facility for persons with disabilities makes it all the more repugnant and senseless. The thoughts of the American people are with our Japanese friends as they mourn the lives lost.

Mass killings are rare in Japan since firearms are heavily restricted in the country. Tuesday’s attacks mark one of the deadliest since World War II.

In 2001, a man with a history of mental illness entered a primary school in the western city of Osaka and killed eight children in a frenzied knife attack.

In 2008, a man killed seven people by striking a group of bystanders with his truck and stabbing many others in the Akihabara shopping district