Scottish Catholic Observer

A knife-wielding man attacked the group of schoolchildren as they were waiting for a bus in the Japanese city of Kawasaki, near Tokyo.

An 11-year-old girl and a 39-year-old man are dead. The attacker, a man in his 50s, stabbed himself in the neck after the attack and has died.

The 16 injured girls are believed to be aged from six to 12, and are reportedly pupils at Caritas Catholic primary school. The school was founded by Canadian missionaries in 1961.

The attack began at 8am near a bus stop at Noborito station, according to media reports. Police found two knifes nearby.

The driver of the Caritas bus told NHK that he saw a man approach the queue of­ students.

He began stabbing the children and then boarded the bus and stabbed children inside as well.

News agency Kyodo said the man was heard shouting ‘I’m going to kill you’ during the attack.

He was apprehended by police and later died in hospital from injuries

Police later named the victims of the fatal attack as Hanako Kuribayashi, who was in the sixth grade, and foreign ministry official Satoshi Oyama, who is believed to be the parent of another child.

The suspect has not been named.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe ­condemned the attack, saying he felt ‘strong anger’ against it.

“It is a very harrowing case. I offer my heartfelt condolences to the victims and hope the injured recover quickly,” Mr Abe said.
Donald Trump, who is on a visit to Japan with first lady Melania, offered his condolences to the victims.

“On behalf of the first lady and myself I want to take a moment to send our prayers and sympathy to the victims of the stabbing attack this morning in Tokyo,” he said.

“All Americans stand with the people of Japan and grieve for the victims and their families.”

Mr Trump made the comments while on a tour of a Japanese navy ship at the Yokosuka naval base located south of Tokyo.