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Man apprehended in stabbing at Sendai court found with 5 knives

Seiji Yodo
Seiji Yodo was armed with five knives when he was on a stabbing rampage at the Sendai District Court on Friday (Fuji News Network)

MIYAGI (TR) – Miyagi Prefectural Police re-arrested a male defendant armed with five knives after he went on a stabbing rampage at a court house in Sendai on Friday, reports NHK (June 17).

At 10:00 a.m., Seiji Yodo, a 30-year-old resident of Yamagata City, Yamagata Prefecture, jumped over an 85-centimeter-tall barrier and began slashing at persons in the visitor’s gallery of the Sendai District Court with a knife just after the judgment in his case was read out loud.

“This is a rotten judicial system!” he reportedly screamed, according to the Fuji News Network (June 17).

Two police officers, aged 44 and 42, subsequently restrained Yodo, who was charged with attempted murder. He has declined to comment on the allegations.

Police found three kitchen knives and two box-cutter knives in his possession.

Both officers suffered a number of injuries, including to the face and back, none of which are considered life-threatening. They were later transported to a nearby hospital.

Prior to the incident, Yodo was out on bail after being prosecuted for allegedly taking tosatsu, or voyeur, photographs of a school girl in Sendai in January. Upon his entry to the court house, the belongings of the defendant, who was attired in a suit, were not checked.

Yodo was handed a prison sentence extending one year in the original case.