A man armed with a handgun locked himself in an apartment in suburban Tokyo and fired nine shots out into the open around noon Friday apparently after shooting a gangster to death several kilometers away in Kanagawa Prefecture across the prefectural border, police said.
One of the shots hit a police patrol car which rushed to the apartment in the city of Machida, around 30 km southwest of central Tokyo. No one has been hurt so far and no hostages appear to have been taken, the police said.
The Metropolitan Police Department has deployed a contingent around the site while the Tokyo Fire Department has mobilized five ambulances to prepare for possible emergencies.
Investigators are positioned on both sides of the apartment building.
Education authorities have instructed primary and junior high schools near the scene not to allow students to leave until safety is ensured.
Residents around the apartment were evacuated on the instruction of the police.
Police said the armed man is the occupant of the apartment and has been identified as Yuji Takeshita, a member of a gang affiliated with the Kyokuto-kai underworld syndicate.
While a senior member of the gang group has continued efforts via mobile phone to persuade Takeshita to surrender to police, he was quoted as telling the senior member that he would kill himself in a sign of apology, according to police.
Earlier, a man was shot in the head at around 11:30 a.m. near a Family Mart convenience store in Sagamihara, Kanagawa Prefecture, and was pronounced dead shortly afterwards at a hospital.
He was identified as a 37-year-old member of a gang also under the Kyokuto-kai syndicate.
The man who shot the gangster fled from the scene in a car to the apartment in Machida, a few kilometers to the northeast, police said.
The registered owner of the car is the same as the occupant of the apartment unit in Machida, police said.
A total of 44 primary and junior high schools near the apartment in the cities of Machida and Sagamihara closed their school gates and kept students inside, local government officials said. School guards are patrolling the school premises, they said.
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Several police officers stormed an apartment in Machida, Tokyo, early Saturday and arrested an armed man about 15 hours after he had locked himself in there and fired nine shots out of a window Friday.
The armed police officers of the Metropolitan Police Department's special investigation team fired tear-gas and burst into his apartment shortly after 3 a.m.
They arrested him on the spot for possessing handguns in violation of the firearm control law. Two handguns were found in his apartment.
His face was smeared with blood when he was held by police officers, police said, adding he had shot himself in the head.
The gunman has been identified as Yuji Takeshita, 36, a member of a gang affiliated with the Kyokuto-kai underworld syndicate.
The gangster was rushed to a nearby hospital, the police said. He is unconscious and in critical condition.
The man had not taken any hostages and there were no reports of injuries so far.
Police had obtained an arrest warrant for Takeshita early Saturday on suspicion of shooting and killing a 37-year-old gangster in Sagamihara, Kanagawa Prefecture, on Friday.
They said they are investigating the case as part of a gang war.
Takeshita is suspected of shooting another member of the syndicate, Madoka Yokoyama, 37, on Friday morning near a convenience store in Sagamihara about 700 meters away from his apartment.
The man who shot Yokoyama fled from the scene in a car, which is owned by Takeshita, then to the apartment in Machida across the prefectural border, police said.
Police said one of the shots hit a police patrol car which rushed to the apartment. No one has been hurt so far and no hostages appear to have been taken.
The Metropolitan Police Department deployed police officers around the site while the Tokyo Fire Department mobilized five ambulances to prepare for possible emergencies.
Investigators were positioned on both sides of the apartment building.
A total of 44 primary and junior high schools near the scene kept students inside for a time but they went home with their parents in the evening.
Residents around the apartment were evacuated on the instruction of the police.
While a senior member of the gang tried to persuade Takeshita via mobile phone to surrender to police, he was quoted as telling the senior member that he would kill himself in a sign of apology, according to police.
Takeshita eventually stopped responding to the phone calls and the police called on him to surrender Friday through early Saturday.
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