FUKUOKA (TR) – A former Self-Defense Force (SDF) member holding a hunting rifle who barricaded himself inside his residence in Kitakyushu City on Wednesday was found dead in an apparent suicide after a nearly eight-hour standoff, reports NHK (Nov. 8).
At just past 8:00 a.m., a woman called police to request help after her husband, 65, shot her dog with a gun in the seventh-floor residence, located in Yahatanishi Ward, according to Fukuoka Prefectural Police.
Officers arriving at the scene attempted to coax the man to surrender after finding him holed-up inside the residence with the gun.
At about 1:30 p.m., police broke into the residence and found the man collapsed and bleeding from his head. He was confirmed dead at the scene. Police believe he fatally shot himself.
The man’s wife was found safe inside. There were no reports of anyone else involved in the incident, police said.
The wife of the man told police that her husband worked as a company employee after his career in the SDF ended. “He was troubled by work,” she said. “I heard two shots fired.” The woman also said that her husband had a license for the rifle.