Nineteen dead after knife attack in Japan

Tokyo police have arrested a 20-year-old suspect

TOKYO:

Nineteen people were dead and as many as 45 others wounded after an attack by a knife-wielding man at a facility for the disabled in Japan early on Tuesday, NHK reported.

【速報 JUST IN 】障害者施設で入所者刺される 容疑者は２６歳の男 #nhk_news https://t.co/kxTvLM7O7I

— NHKニュース (@nhk_news) July 25, 2016

Police in Sagamihara, Kanagawa Prefecture, about 25 miles (40 km) southwest of Tokyo have arrested a man in his 20s, Japanese media reported.

They said staff called police at 2.30 am local time with reports of a man armed with a knife on the grounds of the Tsukui Yamayuri Garden facility.

Kyodo said the man had turned himself into a police station. Asahi Shimbun reported that the suspect was quoted by police as saying "I want to get rid of the disabled from this world."

Fifteen people were confirmed dead while four were in a state of cardiac arrest, the reports said.