5 killed in stabbing rampage on Hyogo island; neighbor arrested

A 40-year-old shut-in was arrested after five people were killed at their homes in a morning stabbing spree on March 9 in this city on Awajishima island, police said.

Tatsuhiko Hirano, a resident of Sumoto, has admitted to attacking some of the victims, investigators said. He said he would discuss further details of the crime in the presence of a lawyer.

Hyogo prefectural police said they received an emergency call from a 32-year-old woman around 7:15 a.m., who reported that her mother and father had been stabbed by a knife-wielding man at the family's residence in the Nakagawara district of Sumoto.

Investigators found two women bleeding on the floor inside the house and a man lying outside the home. The three victims, aged between around 60 and 80, were all pronounced dead shortly afterward.

Police also discovered the bodies of a man and woman, both around 80 years old, at a house about 100 meters south of the first scene. They had also been stabbed.

Hirano, who said he was unemployed, was found standing near the crime scenes in blood-stained clothing. The weapon used in the attacks has not been located.