{"id":168133,"date":"2024-12-20T10:33:24","date_gmt":"2024-12-20T01:33:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/?post_type=news&#038;p=168133&#038;lang=en"},"modified":"2024-12-20T10:33:24","modified_gmt":"2024-12-20T01:33:24","slug":"man-arrested-attempted-murder-in-kitakyushu-stabbing-incident","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/en\/news\/man-arrested-attempted-murder-in-kitakyushu-stabbing-incident\/","title":{"rendered":"Man Arrested for Attempted Murder in Kitakyushu Stabbing Incident"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Police in Kitakyushu have arrested Masanori <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Hirabaru,<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> a 43-year-old unemployed man, on charges of attempted murder following a violent attack on two teenagers at a McDonald\u2019s in Kokura Minami Ward. The incident occurred on December 14 and resulted in the death of 15-year-old Saaya Nakashima, while her male companion sustained severe injuries.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">According to police reports, the two students, returning from evening classes, had stopped at the restaurant in Tokuriki around 8:30 p.m. While placing an order at the counter, they were suddenly attacked by a man armed with a knife. Surveillance footage revealed that the assailant entered the establishment and carried out the attack within 30 seconds before fleeing in a vehicle. The male victim, who survived with serious injuries, stated he had no prior acquaintance with the attacker. Investigators identified <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Hirabaru <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">as a suspect using security camera footage and arrested him on December 19.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Hirabaru <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">confessed to the charges, saying, \u201cYes, I did it.\u201d The police also revealed that <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Hirabaru<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> drove to and from the scene. Although the motive remains unclear, authorities continue to investigate the incident&#8217;s details. The attack has left the local community shaken. Residents near JR Kokura Station shared mixed feelings of relief and lingering anxiety. A 30-something mother with a young child said, \u201cI feel somewhat reassured by the arrest, but the incident made me constantly watch over my child, not knowing what could happen next.\u201d <\/span><b>Source:<\/b> <a href=\"https:\/\/www3.nhk.or.jp\/fukuoka-news\/20241219\/5010026585.html\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">NHK<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-168136\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/fnn_kitakyushu-update-dec_2024_cl.jpg?resize=1400%2C808&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Man Arrested for Attempted Murder in Kitakyushu Stabbing Incident\" width=\"1400\" height=\"808\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/fnn_kitakyushu-update-dec_2024_cl.jpg?w=1400&amp;ssl=1 1400w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/fnn_kitakyushu-update-dec_2024_cl.jpg?resize=300%2C173&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/fnn_kitakyushu-update-dec_2024_cl.jpg?resize=1024%2C591&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/fnn_kitakyushu-update-dec_2024_cl.jpg?resize=768%2C443&amp;ssl=1 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Stay informed with the latest Fukuoka &amp; Kyushu news and events in English. Sign up for our <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/en\/mailmagazine\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">free weekly newsletter <\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">today and never miss a beat. Opt out anytime, your privacy is our priority. Get the inside scoop with <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/en\/mailmagazine\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Now<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Summaries based on public content, errors may occur during translation. Images credited independently. Send feedback using <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/en\/contact\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">this <\/span><b>form<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Police in Kitakyushu have arrested Masanori Hirabaru, a 43-year-old unemployed man, on charges of attempted murder following&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":29305,"featured_media":168140,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","tags":[],"class_list":["post-168133","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","location-kitakyushu","news-category-general","en-US"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/168133","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/29305"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=168133"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/168140"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=168133"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=168133"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}