Police arrest gunman and free hostages after 8-hour standoff following shooting at Japan hospital

Two people – a doctor in his 40s and a patient in his 60s – suffered injuries during shooting at Saitama Prefecture

Japan

Police have arrested a suspect believed to be in his 80s, who allegedly took people hostage in a post office in Japan after shooting and injuring two others at a hospital in Toda city on Tuesday.

Police ended an eight-hour standoff at a post office north of Tokyo by arresting the armed suspect after two hostages were freed safely in an attack authorities said could be related to an earlier shooting at a hospital.

Both hostages were women who were unharmed, police said. However, the motive of the gunman remained unclear.

Two people – a doctor in his 40s and a patient in the hospital in his 60s – earlier suffered injuries during the shooting at the hospital. Identities of the victims and the suspect were not immediately made available. The suspect was believed to be in his 80s, the Japan Times reported.

The men faced non-threatening injuries, local reports said. The Kyodo News agency said the two were believed to be inside a consultation room on the first floor when they were attacked.

After the shooting, Toda Chuo General Hospital authorities said the premises were put on lockdown.

Police were notified of the shooting shortly after 1pm local time on Tuesday.

The local fire department received a request from the hospital to stop transporting patients requiring medical assistance at around 1.50pm.

The government of the city of Warabi, located just north of Tokyo, said in a statement that an unidentified number of “hostages” inside a post office were taken by a man “in possession of something like a handgun”.

According to NHK Japan, police sources said they are also investigating an apartment fire in Toda on Tuesday afternoon. The apartment reportedly belongs to the hospital shooting suspect.

Authorities are also examining any potential links between the shooting incident and the fire.

Reports said that the post office is about 1.5km from the hospital and the suspect was seen carrying a handgun with him. He was seen fleeing the hospital on a motorbike.

City officials on Tuesday advised residents in the vicinity of the Warabi post office to stay away from the area and comply with instructions from law enforcement officers.

Local media reports had earlier said that there were at least two female post office employees in their 20s and 30s who were among the hostages taken by the suspect.

Japan is known as one of the safest countries globally, primarily owing to its rigorous gun-control regulations.

Shooting-related incidents are rare in the country.

The last known high-profile case related to a shooting occurred last year when former prime minister Shinzo Abe was assassinated with a “homemade gun”.

Additional reporting by agencies