Suspect arrested after shooting and stabbing attack in Japan leaves four dead

The suspect in a shooting and stabbing incident that left four people dead in central Japan is now in police custody, according to Japanese public broadcaster NHK, citing local police early Friday.

Police in Nakano City received a call on Thursday with reports 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.

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

A fourth person died Friday, police said according to Japanese public broadcaster NHK.

Citing investigative sources, NHK said police in Nagano requested the Metropolitan Police Department to dispatch a “special investigation team” specializing in dealing with barricading incidents to the site.

Read more: CNN