SHIMANE (TR) – A 23-year-old man who held a woman hostage in a standoff at the office of a transport company in Izumo City this week said that he wanted “to die” prior to the incident, police have revealed, reports TV Asahi (Jan. 17).
At around 8:30 a.m. on Wednesday, Kaisei Nakao, a resident of Chiba Prefecture, released the woman unharmed. The suspect placed a knife he had in his possession on a table in the office of Ueda Cold Corp. He was then taken to the Izumo Police Station.
Prior to the incident, a relative of Nakao contacted police, according to investigative sources. “I want to kill a person,” he reportedly told the relative. “And then I want to die.”
Ordered employees to leave
The drama began at around 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday, when Nakao entered the office with the knife and ordered employees to leave.
However, a female employe, 40, remained inside. After he confined her to a conference room on the second floor, the standoff ensued.
In security camera footage provided by police, a man in dark clothes can be seen walking between desks in the office with what appears to be a knife.
“I do not recall”
A report by TBS News (Jan. 16) indicates that it was thought that Nakao had a “problem with a former male employee at the company in connection with [Nakao’s] girlfriend.” However, police contacted the former employee and learned that the claim was not accurate.
During the standoff, the woman, with whom Nakao appeared to not be acquainted, was not tied up in the room. Meanwhile, Nakao stayed in a corridor.
Upon his arrest, Nakao, who was in possession of two knives, admitted to the allegations. He also confessed to robbing a post office in Chiba.
“There were signs that some things had been eaten and drunk,” said Ueda Cold president Hiromi Ueda. “Also, [someone] seems to have used the restroom. The best thing about it is having everyone safely released without injury.”
On January 7, a man fled from a post office in Ichihara City, Chiba after taking about 75,000 yen in cash during a robbery.
Ichihara is located about 840 kilometers from Izumo. Police are now investigating whether Nakao was in fact behind the robbery.
