86-Year-Old Japanese Man Holds Hostage After Hospital Shooting... Arrested After 8-Hour Standoff

Set Fire to Home and Flee Crime
"Had Complaints About Hospital and Post Office," Statement Says

An 86-year-old man in Japan opened fire at a hospital, fled to a post office, and took hostages before being arrested after an 8-hour standoff. As Japan's aging population intensifies, crimes committed by elderly individuals are also increasing, causing deep concern among authorities.

Suspect Tsuneo Suzuki apprehended at the scene. (Photo by NHK)

According to NHK on the 1st, the 86-year-old suspect, Suzuki Tsuneo, who set fire to his home the previous day, fired shots at a hospital, fled to a post office, and took hostages, was arrested at the scene on charges of violating the Hostage Taking Punishment Act.

At around 1 p.m. the previous day, he set fire to his home in Toda City, Saitama Prefecture, then moved to Toda Central General Hospital nearby at around 1:10 p.m., where he fired two pistol shots toward the first-floor clinic from the street beside the hospital. A doctor in his 40s and a patient in their 60s inside were injured, but the bullets only grazed them, and their lives were not in danger.

The police received a report of "sounds of gunfire" at around 1:13 p.m. and dispatched officers to the scene, but Suzuki had already fled on a motorcycle. About an hour after the police began searching for him, at 2:14 p.m., another report was received that "a man with a pistol broke into" the Warabi Post Office in Warabi City, located 1.5 km from the hospital.

Suzuki was wandering inside the three-story post office holding a pistol, and witnesses reported hearing multiple gunshots. Most customers and employees evacuated, but women in their 20s and 30s were taken hostage.

The police dispatched the Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Metropolitan Police Department, responsible for hostage negotiations, to the scene. From 4 p.m., they communicated with the suspect and began negotiations for the release of the hostages. Suzuki became agitated and shouted upon hearing police sirens. After phone negotiations, the hostage in her 20s was released after 7 p.m., and by after 9 p.m., the remaining hostages escaped safely toward the police while the suspect was distracted.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Later, at 10:20 p.m., the police raided the post office and arrested him after an 8-hour occupation. At the scene, two weapons believed to belong to the suspect, containers with liquid, and bullets were found.

The motive for the crime has not yet been revealed, but Asahi Shimbun reported that during police questioning, he explained that he fired at the hospital because he was "dissatisfied with the medical examination."

He also reportedly stated that the reason for breaking into the post office was due to "resentment over trouble related to a traffic accident."

Meanwhile, on the day of the incident, elementary and junior high schools in Toda City conducted group dismissals accompanied by teachers, and students at an elementary school near the incident site were urgently evacuated to a nearby center.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.