Press "Enter" to skip to content

Man injures 5 with bat, knife on Chiba baseball field

A man attacked members of a baseball team with a bat on a field in Matsudo City on Sunday
A man attacked members of a baseball team with a bat on a field in Matsudo City on Sunday (TV Asahi)

CHIBA (TR) – Chiba Prefectural Police have arrested a 34-year-old man injured five persons after he went on a rampage with a bat and knife at a baseball field in Matsudo City on Sunday, reports TBS News (May 21).

At around 11 a.m., Norio Shibata slashed a man, aged in his 70s with a knife at Kanegasaku Park. He also picked up a bat and swung it wildly, striking four members of a baseball team, aged in their 40s to 60s.

Police arriving at the scene arrested Shibata on charges of attempted murder. He admits to the allegations, though he said that he does not remember hitting anyone with the bat.

The five victims were transported to a hospital, with two of them seriously injured, police said. None of the injuries are considered life-threatening.

Shibata lives near the field. An eyewitness said that he heard something like a scream before the attack. “It was something like ‘I’ll kill you,'” the witness said. Another witness said that he picked up the bat from the first-base side of the field and started going after members of his baseball team.

The suspect, who suffered injuries to his arms in the incident, was eventually apprehended by persons at the park. He was not previously acquainted with any of the five victims.

Police later found blood in a corridor the suspect’s residence, leading to believe that his injuries were self-inflicted, according to Sports Hochi (May 22).