A 16-year-old boy was arrested on suspicion of murder while carrying out a robbery on Thursday after an unknown number of intruders entered a home in Tochigi Prefecture, killing one man, police said.
Police say the perpetrators may have been brought together through online solicitation promising easy money and commanded by someone who typically issues instructions via a messaging app.
The individual captured afterward claims to be a 16-year-old high school student from Sagamihara, Kanagawa Prefecture, they said.
Eiko Tomiyama, 69, was found at her home in Kaminokawa with stab wounds to her chest, while her two adult sons were taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, the police said.
Police received an emergency call from Tomiyama’s home at around 9:30 a.m. Thursday. They subsequently spotted and captured a man walking in the town, while one or more other suspects remained at large.
A security camera near Tomiyama’s home showed a young man in a ski mask holding a weapon that looked like a sickle.
An 81-year-old neighbor also spotted a man with a similar description at around 9 a.m. Sensing something off about him, the neighbor said he started a conversation, but the man walked away after a brief chat.
The neighbor said a circular had gone around about a month earlier reporting vehicles with license plates from other prefectures loitering in the community.
© KYODO
