TOKYO (TR) – Tokyo Metropolitan Police last week arrested a 21-year-old man after a three-hour standoff ended with him attempting suicide and stabbing the mother of his former girlfriend, reports Nippon News Network (May 26).
At around 5:45 p.m. on Thursday, Shingo Tsutsumi, a resident of Aira City, Kagoshima Prefecture, brandished a knife in taking the 55-year-old mother of his former girlfriend hostage inside at an apartment in the Asakusa area of Taito Ward.
A female neighbor heard the woman scream and alerted police. A standoff subsequently ensued, with the suspect calling police to demand that his ex-girlfriend, 25, arrive at the apartment.
However, negotiations with police broke down just before 9:00 p.m. A special tactics squad then burst into the residence through the balcony and front door.
The suspect was found collapsed on the floor with stab wounds, the result of an apparent attempt to take his life. The woman had also been stabbed in the chest. The woman is believed to have been stabbed by the suspect about two minutes before the squad burst inside. Both persons were transported to a nearby hospital with injuries not considered life-threatening.
The day before the incident, the victim’s daughter consulted with police after Tsutsumi, whom she had broken up with after a five-month relationship in April, was seen near her residence in Nakano Ward.
Prior to the incident, the suspect likely tailed the mother. According to police, security camera footage shows a woman believed to be the daughter entering the apartment in Asakusa at 5:23 p.m. The suspect appears several minutes later, and follows the mother inside. The woman believed to be the daughter then flees the premises with the suspect in pursuit, but he eventually returns inside.
Police suspect the daughter of the victim fled the premises after the suspect pulled the knife.
Police expect to charge the suspect with confinement resulting in injury upon his recovery from his injuries, according to the Sankei Shimbun (May 25).
