Police Officer Fires Shot after Vehicle Rams into Store in Kanagawa

Yokohama, July 20 (Jiji Press)–A police officer has fired a warning shot after a car rammed into a convenience store in the city of Sagamihara, Kanagawa Prefecture, eastern Japan. Around 12:10 a.m. Monday, a worker at the store made an emergency police call reporting that a vehicle crashed into the shop and that a man is holding a kitchen knife. A police officer who rushed to the scene found a man with a kitchen knife in a parking lot. As the man did not follow a verbal warning, the officer fired a warning shot into the air and then arrested him on suspicion of violating the firearms and swords control law. A 15-year-old male customer in the store was hit by the vehicle and suffered slight injuries. No one was injured by the bullet. The suspect is Kyohei Shibuya, 45, a self-proclaimed manufacturer who lives nearby, according to the Sagamihara police station of the Kanagawa prefectural police department. Shibuya admitted the allegations against him and also said that he set fire to his house. Following his statement, police officers confirmed that a room in a nearby apartment was on fire. Local firefighters extinguished the flame. The police will investigate details such as the suspect’s motives. Yuichi Nagata, deputy chief of the police station, said, “At this moment, we believe that the use of the handgun was appropriate.” END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]