Man who attacked teens with hammer in Tokyo arrested

TOKYO — A man who is believed to have struck a 17-year-old high school student in the face with a hammer in Tokyo earlier this week was arrested on Friday after a manhunt on suspicion of attempted murder, according to local police.

Teruyuki Takabayashi, 44, was apprehended in Narashino, Chiba Prefecture after allegedly attacking the boy between 7:15 and 7:25 a.m. on Wednesday in Fussa, a suburban area in western Tokyo. The boy was part of a group of seven teenagers hanging around a nearby restaurant at the time of the incident.

"I did not have the intent to murder," the suspect was quoted by police as saying.

Takabayashi is thought to have attacked the group on Wednesday after his mother, who he lives with, warned the group to be quiet. He pointed a survival knife at the police officers who were called to the scene, before spraying them with a medicinal substance.

He also struck another high school student who sustained minor injuries, while three police officers were sent to hospital.

Police initially believed Takabayashi had barricaded himself inside his home after the attack, but he was not found when they later stormed the residence. Security camera footage showed the suspect fleeing through a back door.

He was eventually found alone in an apartment in Narashino.

© KYODO