Suspected of the murder of 4 people, including 2 police officers, in Japan captured after a showdown

TOKYO (AP) — Police said they arrested a man on Friday who locked himself in his father’s home armed with a gun and knife after he allegedly killed four people, including two police officers, in the center of the Japan.

TV Asahi showed the man with his hands on his head coming out of the house and being led towards a police vehicle.

Masanori Aoki, 31, a farmer, was arrested by police on an arrest warrant on suspicion of murder in Nakano, a city in Nagano Prefecture.

Nagano Prefectural Police Chief Iwao Koyama offered his condolences to the victims and said the loss of two officers was “extremely regrettable”. He noted that the suspect allegedly shot a police officer in the left chest with a shotgun.

National Public Security Commission Chairman Koichi Tani told a regular press conference on Friday that the suspect had licenses for several hunting and airguns authorized by the prefectural public security commission and that his license renewals had been properly carried out.

Tani said police are investigating his firearms records and plan to take necessary security measures based on the results of the investigation.

Police said the house belonged to her father, a local politician. Koyama said two women who escaped while the suspect was locked up are the suspect’s mother and aunt and were not injured. NHK said the mother told police that the attacker was her son and that his father was the chairman of the city assembly.

Japanese media quoted neighbors who described the suspect as a calm person and that they were unaware of any family feuds.

Police said earlier that two officers were shot by the suspect when they arrived at the scene after receiving an emergency call that a woman had been stabbed. Officers were apparently without body armor.

On Friday, the Nagano police chief said the suspect allegedly stabbed the 66-year-old woman to death with a survival knife.

A witness told NHK on Thursday that a woman fell while being chased by the suspect, who then stabbed her with a knife and shot two police officers as they arrived at the scene in a car of patrol.

The woman and the two police officers were pronounced dead in a hospital. An elderly woman, who was injured but could not be rescued as she was near the suspect, was found dead early Friday, police said.

During the clash, television footage showed police wearing body armor and carrying shields, with an ambulance nearby. Police cordoned off a 300-meter (330-yard) radius around the home, and city officials urged residents of the quiet farming neighborhood to either stay home or stay at an evacuation center, where about 80 people are would be refugees.

Violent crimes are rare in Japan. It has strict gun control laws and only a handful of gun crimes each year. But in recent years, there have been high-profile cases involving random subway stabbings and arson, and there are growing concerns about firearms and homemade explosives.

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This story has been edited to correct attribution in the 2nd paragraph to TV Asahi.

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