Japanese police investigate a stabbing attack in Kawasaki Tuesday, where an 11-year-old girl and 39-year-old man died. The attacker died from a self-inflicted wound. Photo by Kimimasa Mayama/EPA-EFE
May 28 (UPI) -- Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said he will take all necessary measures for children's safety after two people were killed in a stabbing attack at a bus stop in Kawasaki.
The attacker killed two people, including himself, and wounded 17, including several young girls Tuesday. The girls, who attend a private Catholic school, were lined up at a bus stop at Noborito Park when a man wearing sunglasses, black shirt and pants approached them with a knife in both hands.
"I tried to stop him, but he started stabbing children and others," the bus driver said. "He then moved dozens of meters away and stabbed his own neck."
Police captured the man but he died from a self-inflicted wound, and said two more knives were found in his backpack. Hanako Kuribayashi, an 11-year-old girl from Tokyo, was among the dead.
"We must keep our children safe at all costs," Abe said.
Police also said 39-year-old foreign ministry official Satoshi Oyama was killed. Many of the wounded were young children, aged 6 or 7.
President Donald Trump offered "prayers and sympathy" as he was in Japan to visit with Abe.
"All Americans stand with the people of Japan and grieve for the victims and their families," he said.
Police have not identified a motive.
Japan is known for a low violent crime rate and schools have implemented safety measures since a 2001 school attack killed eight students and wounded 15. In 2016, 19 people were stabbed to death at a home for the disabled. Schools lock the gates after classes begin and volunteers line the routes students take.
But Abe said he's ordering more to be done.
"I've instructed the related ministers to take immediate action to ensure the children's safety in going to and leaving school," Abe said.
