TOKYO: An 18-year-old army trainee shot three fellow soldiers at a firing range on a Japanese army base Wednesday, killing two of them, officials said.
The suspect was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder at the scene in Gifu prefecture in central Japan, police said. The suspect fired a rifle at the soldiers during a shooting drill at the Hino Kihon firing range, police said. The Ground Self Defence Force, Japan’s army, confirmed that two of those wounded were later pronounced dead at a hospital. Army chief of staff Gen Yasunori Morishita said the suspect joined the military in April. Morishita said he has ordered a temporary suspension of shooting exercises across the country while the army probes the incident.
Japan has strict gun control laws, but has seen high-profile violence in recent past, PM Fumio Kishida was almost hit by a pipe bomb. Ex-PM Abe was assassinated in 2022 by an attacker using a handmade gun.
The suspect was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder at the scene in Gifu prefecture in central Japan, police said. The suspect fired a rifle at the soldiers during a shooting drill at the Hino Kihon firing range, police said. The Ground Self Defence Force, Japan’s army, confirmed that two of those wounded were later pronounced dead at a hospital. Army chief of staff Gen Yasunori Morishita said the suspect joined the military in April. Morishita said he has ordered a temporary suspension of shooting exercises across the country while the army probes the incident.
Japan has strict gun control laws, but has seen high-profile violence in recent past, PM Fumio Kishida was almost hit by a pipe bomb. Ex-PM Abe was assassinated in 2022 by an attacker using a handmade gun.