“Thud thud…” “Bang bang” A strange sound was heard from the house of suspect Masanori Hirahara (43, unemployed), who owns a house on the land and two cars. “I wonder if his wife was there at the time” [Kitakyushu, junior high school student killed and injured] 2024.12.20 14:15 news Post Seven On the night of December 14, two junior high school students were stabbed with a knife in a fast food restaurant in Kitakyushu City, Fukuoka Prefecture, on their way home from cram school. Of these, Saya Nakajima (15) died. Five days later, police arrested Masanori Hirahara (43), who lived about a 15-minute walk from the scene, on suspicion of attempted murder. A local TV station official gives commentary. “Prior to the incident, a suspicious black van was seen on security cameras travelling around the area. The prefectural police analyzed the security camera footage as well as dashcam footage provided by members of the public, and were able to identify the suspect. Inside Hirahara’s home, yellow sandals believed to belong to him, which were also seen on the store’s security camera, as well as several knives, were found. Once the charges are confirmed, the police plan to re-arrest the man on suspicion of murdering Nakajima.” Why were these two young men targeted? The prefectural police have not yet revealed the suspect’s motive, but there are rumors on social media that it may have been a so-called “random attack.” “Immediately after entering the store, Hirahara walked straight past four customers lined up to the left of the counter in front of the cash register and targeted the two junior high school students at the very back of the line. The prefectural police are rushing to investigate, as they believe that the victim was not originally targeted, but rather was chosen on the spot.” (Major newspaper social affairs reporter) The suspect’s “abnormal behavior” When residents were interviewed around Hirahara’s home, a number of “abnormal behaviors” were revealed. A man in his 70s who lives nearby said: “I hear loud screams coming from the house almost every day. And it would be through speakers and microphones, with a “Wow! Wow!” kind of feel… Sometimes I would sing. It’s been especially bad this year. It was like, ‘Oh!’ or ‘Wow!’ I also heard something that sounded like banging. A report was made to the police around summer this year, and they were warned that “children might be frightened.” So police cars started patrolling the area, but the noise didn’t stop.”
Many similar stories were reported from neighbors, with many testimonies such as “They sing military songs and pop songs loudly” and “They set off firecrackers in the summer.” Suspect Hirano was known to those in the neighborhood. A man in his 30s who regularly posted flyers at the man’s home also said, “That guy was creepy.” “My impression of him is that he’s always smoking and has a rough personality. When I post flyers I say ‘hello’, but I rarely get a response. He was always muttering to himself, and I don’t know if he was talking to himself or what… It was scary, so I was careful.” The family owns land and two cars… But it also seems like they live a comfortable life. When we actually visited the man’s home, we found it to be a fine detached house surrounded by a fence, with a monthly parking lot with a sign that read “Hirahara.” According to the land registry, the house is listed as being owned by Hirano. The man in his 70s mentioned above says: “I think he inherited the land and the house from his father, or rather from his family. Apparently, when a neighbor invited him to join the neighborhood association, he refused, saying, “I run a shop and I’m a member there,” so he might be involved in some kind of business. He had two cars and always drove the white one. Black cars are a recent development. About two weeks ago, JAF came and replaced the battery, and I started driving the black one.” The suspect didn’t seem to be short on money. A woman in her 30s who lives nearby and knows the man’s family spoke. “Until two or three years ago, my mother and sister lived there. I guess his wife was there at the time, because I heard her yelling, “You’re going to do this!” and the sounds of thumping, so I wondered whether I should call the police. He appears to be living alone now, and his mother and sister come over about once a month to weed the house.” What on earth drove this man to commit such a heinous act? The prefectural police are investigating the matter.
>>24 But driving around in a car looking for a target, preparing a knife, and researching an escape route – it’s a planned crime I don’t think it’s acceptable for someone to be innocent.
Is it the police’s fault? Police cars wandering around are just a waste of gas and labor costs. Police officers are just driving around pretending to be on duty. Even loud motorbikes pass right by.
If you have free time, you should go to Yasukuni Shrine. There are people who hate bases on both the right and the left, so you might have become friends with them.
Well, he’s a street attacker, so I guess that’s to be expected. There’s an old man yelling something in my apartment building. I’ve never met him, but I hear him yelling something in the hallway. The police patrol the area often.
Maybe he was driving around in his car looking for a target? In other words, he probably thought that this middle school student was making fun of him.
Comments