Japan: Man arrested over shooting, stabbing incident that killed 3 in Nakano city

Japan: The suspect in a shooting and stabbing incident that left three people dead in central Japan is now in police custody, according to Japanese public broadcaster NHK, CNN reported.

Police in Japan's Nakano City on Thursday received a call that a "man stabbed a woman", a city police official told CNN.

When officers rushed to the scene, the suspect fired something resembling a hunting rifle, striking four people, before barricading himself inside a building, the official added, as per CNN.

Incident claimed 3 lives

According to the police, among the casualties is a woman in her 40s, who was taken to hospital where she was subsequently pronounced dead. Two police officers also died from their injuries, NHK reported. The officers were aged 46 and 61.

The suspect initially barricaded himself in a home belonging to Nakano City Council Chairman Masamichi Aoki, who was later revealed to be the suspect's father, NHK reported citing Nakano City police.

He was later taken into custody, NHK said.

Citizens advised to stay indoors

As per NHK, a witness to the attack said that he saw a woman run toward him, pleading for help, pursued by a masked man wearing camouflage. The man, who appeared to be in his 30s and wielded a knife several dozen centimeters long, stabbed her in the back, NHK reported.

Nakano City urged citizens to stay indoors in a statement posted on social media, and the city police spokesman told CNN that authorities had designated an evacuation zone with a radius of 300 meters around the scene of the incident.