A police vehicle in Japan. (Mainichi)

       SOSA, Chiba -- A 74-year-old man in this east Japan city was shot in the right chest by a senior policeman after he wielded a saw at the officer and an inspector on Aug. 28, and his death was confirmed about 3 1/2 hours later at the hospital.

       According to Chiba Prefectural Police's Sosa Police Station, it received a complaint at around 6:40 p.m. on the day, saying, "A rice husk dryer is very noisy." The male senior police officer in his 50s and the male inspector visited the owner of the machine and were questioning the person. At around 8 p.m., the man who had made the call showed up and wielded a saw with an about 30-centimeter-long blade. The senior police officer ordered him to drop the saw and fired a warning shot into the air. The officer then apparently shot the man after he persisted and approached within about 2 meters of them.

       The man was conscious just after being shot and was arrested on the spot on suspicion of obstructing the performance of public duty. According to the police station, the deceased person is Seiichi Ebato, an unemployed man who lived nearby.

       The police station had received consultations over the noise four times. Yoshinori Takaya, deputy chief at the police station, commented, "At this point, we consider it was appropriate to have used the pistol."

       (Japanese original by Tomohiro Shibata, Chiba Bureau)

       Font Size S M L Print Timeline 0