2 Stabbed at Commercial Facility in Fukuoka; Suspect on Run

Fukuoka, Dec. 14 (Jiji Press)–A woman in her 20s and a man in his 40s were stabbed with a knife-like object at a commercial facility in the southwestern Japan city of Fukuoka on Sunday afternoon, the Fukuoka prefectural police said. They are both conscious. A man believed to be in his 60s, who is suspected of stabbing the two, fled the scene. As the victimized woman said she did not know the man, the police are investigating the possibility that the two were attacked indiscriminately and are searching for the suspect on suspicion of attempted murder. The victims taken to hospital are a 27-year-old female corporate worker from Kurashiki in the western Japan prefecture of Okayama and a 44-year-old male company worker from Fukuoka. The woman was visiting an event held at the Mizuho PayPay Dome Fukuoka, adjacent to the commercial facility. The man is a staff member of idol group “HKT48,” which has a theater within the commercial facility. The woman sustained one wound on her back, and the man suffered one wound on his chest. The woman explained to the police that she was stabbed inside the commercial facility. The man said that he was stabbed without warning after he told the suspect to leave the elevator hall in the dome’s parking lot, which was restricted to authorized personnel. The man on the run is around 160 centimeters tall, wearing black clothing top and bottom, a black hat, glasses and a white mask. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]