19 people were stabbed to death at a care home for people with disabilities, Japanese media reported Tuesday, describing the worst mass-casualty attack in the postwar era in Japan.
A knife-wielding man apparently aggrieved at having been fired from the facility in Sagamihara, west of Tokyo, went on the rampage at 2:30 a.m. local time. He killed 19 people and injured 26 more, a dozen seriously. They have been transported to nearby hospitals for treatment. NHK, the public broadcaster, aired footage of ambulances lined up outside the facility.
The suspect, a 26-year-old whose name was given as Satoshi Uematsu, then drove himself to the police station to turn himself in. He was immediately arrested on suspicion of attempted murder and unlawful entry to a building.
"I did it," he told police, explaining that he was angry at losing his job at the facility, according to local TV reports. "It's better that disabled people disappear," the police quoted him as saying, according to local reports.
