The gun of a police officer at a koban police box was violently stolen, and this weapon was used to fatally shoot an ordinary citizen. This vicious incident, which should never have been allowed to happen, sends a shiver down the spine.
A 21-year-old former Self-Defense Forces member used knives to attack the police officer at a koban in Toyama and then grabbed his sidearm. The assailant fired this gun at a security guard near the front gate of a nearby elementary school. The police officer and security guard both died.
The assailant was shot and arrested at the scene by other police officers who quickly responded to the incident. Why did he steal the gun? The Toyama prefectural police must unravel the whole truth of this incident.
About 400 children were in the elementary school. After being alerted about the incident, the school decided not to allow the children to go home and evacuated them to the school gymnasium. The gym was locked and teachers armed with sasumata two-pronged poles stood guard.
The assailant was apprehended on the school premises. There was a danger that children might have become entangled in this incident.
The police initially informed the school that "a man with a knife is on the loose." However, the school said that it was not informed about the assailant's possession of a gun.
An investigation is needed to determine whether there were any problems in how information was conveyed to the school.
The police officer and a male counselor were in the police box. It is said that after hearing a knock on the back door, the police officer went to have a look and was suddenly attacked.
The assailant was carrying several bladed weapons, including knives. That suggests this was a premeditated crime. Did the police officer have no time to use his gun himself? He sustained stab wounds in more than 30 places, mainly in the abdominal area.
Further training needed
As sorrowful as this incident is, the fact that a police officer's gun was seized is extremely serious. Tomohiro Yamada, chief of the Toyama prefectural police, apologized for the incident, saying: "It is extremely regrettable. We apologize for causing great worry to local residents."
In 2005, a police officer in Tajimi, Gifu Prefecture, was attacked while he attempted to question a suspect, and his sidearm was stolen. Following this incident, the National Police Agency took steps to prevent police guns from being seized, such as using a special metal in the center of the tensile cord that attaches a gun to a police officer's belt to make the cord harder to cut.
Despite these changes, such incidents have not stopped. Since 2013, local police offers working at koban and elsewhere have had their guns stolen on six occasions.
The NPA had just recently instructed police headquarters across the nation to conduct drills for scenarios in which a police box is suddenly attacked.
The agency has been making improvements to police officers' hip holsters to make it difficult for anyone other than the wearer to take out the gun. The holsters were scheduled to be introduced by 2020, but the NPA will consider bringing this date forward. That is a natural response.
More than 6,000 koban are located across the nation. Carrying a gun is essential so police officers can carry out their duty to protect the safety of local communities. Even if a police officer is suddenly assaulted by a thug, their gun must never be stolen. It is vital that police officers undergo repeated training to ensure their weapons do not fall into the wrong hands.
(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, June 28, 2018)
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