TOKYO (TR) – Tokyo Metropolitan Police have arrested a man in his 70s after he allegedly stabbed a couple living next door to him in Shibuya Ward over the noise they made while preparing breakfast, reports the Asahi Shimbun (May 26).
At around 5:50 a.m. on Tuesday, a witness called emergency services to report that a man was stabbing someone at an apartment complex in the Sasazuka 2-chome area.
Officers from the Yoyogi Police Station arrived to find a man and a woman in their 60s who had been stabbed and slashed in the face and neck area on the premises. Both victims were rushed to a hospital but were conscious upon transport and their injuries are not life-threatening.
Upon the suspect’s arrest on suspicion of attempted murder, the elderly man admitted to the allegations. “We have had trouble over daily living noise for many years, and I just couldn’t take it anymore,” he told investigators.
The suspect, who lived in the apartment directly adjacent to the victims, was found nearby still holding a knife and was taken into custody on the spot.
According to police, the suspect visited the couple’s apartment at around 5:30 a.m. to complain about the noise. He reportedly told officers that “the sound of them preparing breakfast was too loud.” Following the confrontation, he allegedly returned to his own room, retrieved a knife, and attacked the pair.
Police are continuing to investigate the detailed circumstances leading up to the dispute.
