A knife-wielding man stabbed at least 18 people, including 13 young girls, killing at least two, at a bus stop just outside Tokyo during rush hour on Tuesday morning.
A child was among the dead, The Associated Press reported. All of the injured were rushed to area hospitals. Three of the injured were in serious condition.
Japan's national news broadcaster NHK reported that a bus driver told officials that a man holding a knife in each hand walked toward the bus and started slashing children. According to Kyodo news agency, they were girls aged 6 and 7, Catholic school students waiting for their school bus.
The news station said two victims "were without vital signs" just after the attack, Reuters reported. The suspect slashed his throat and was detained immediately, Reuters said. He later died, according to the AP.
"A man stabbed them," Kawasaki Fire Department spokesman Dai Nagase told Agence France-Presse. "We received an emergency call at 7:44 am, which said four elementary schoolchildren were stabbed."
Police retrieved two knives from the scene, according to BBC News, which also reported that the attack took place near a local train station.
Police did not have a motive.
