A man who barricaded himself inside his home in Tokyo after allegedly striking a high school student on the head with a hammer and spraying an unknown substance at multiple police officers was no longer inside the residence once officers entered on Wednesday, police said.
The incident occurred at around 7:20 a.m. on a street in Fussa, a suburban area in western Tokyo. The man, believed to be in his 40s, then barricaded himself inside the home. Police have launched a search for the man.
According to local police, the boy and three of the six police officers who rushed to the scene were taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
A witness who saw the incident in a residential area near JR Fussa Station made an emergency call, reporting that a man carrying a hammer was attacking someone.
The police said the man threatened the officers with a knife he had brought from home while they were speaking with his mother at the scene.
According to the police, the man sprayed an unknown substance at officers who were trying to arrest him on suspicion of obstructing their duties.
The man is described as being 173 cm tall, with a sturdy build, a shaved head, and wearing a gray tracksuit.
© KYODO
