Japanese police are searching for a man who fatally stabbed a 15-year-old schoolgirl and seriously injured a boy at a McDonald’s in southwestern Japan.
The attack, which occurred on Saturday evening, left Saaya Nakashima dead and the boy hospitalised. The assailant reportedly struck without warning, according to police.
Witnesses described the attacker as a man in his 40s who also targeted a male student standing in line with the victim. Although the boy, whose identity remains undisclosed, survived the violent assault, he suffered serious injuries.
The incident occurred around 8.30pm on Saturday as the two victims stood near the back of the queue.
The attack in Kitakyushu city in Fukuoka prefecture occurred in under a minute, with around 10 customers present.
Nakashima died from a stab wound to the abdomen, while the boy, injured in the waist, remains hospitalised and described the attacker as “a complete stranger”.
Both students were on their way home from a cram school, according to national broadcaster NHK, when they decided to make a quick stop at the fast food outlet.
Police are investigating the incident as murder but have not found any links between the victim and the attacker.
While violent crime is rare in Japan due to strict gun laws, occasional stabbings and shootings still happen, including Shinzo Abe’s 2022 assassination.
In 2019, a 51-year-old attacker in Kawasaki stabbed and killed two people, including a schoolgirl, and injured over a dozen others in a rampage targeting children waiting for a bus. He later fatally stabbed himself.
In response to the McDonald’s attack, Kitakyushu city cancelled all extracurricular activities and events at city-run schools and kindergartens on Sunday.
