Japanese high school student stabbed teacher, mutilated multiple cats
A 17-year-old boy who was arrested over the attempted murder of a teacher on Wednesday has also admitted to dismembering several cats and scattering their body parts across Saitama city in Japan.
At least five of such cases involving cat parts found in elementary school playgrounds and parks were reported in February, prompting local authorities, schools and parents to beef up protection of young students, according to The Asahi Shimbun.
The high school student was nabbed on Wednesday after entering Misasa Junior High School in Toda with a knife while exams were held at the school, The Japan Times reported.
A 60-year-old teacher, who had noticed the teenager while invigilating, was stabbed several times when he tried to seize the intruder, it added. The Saitama teenager was held down by the teacher and other staff.
The teacher was conscious when taken to hospital and his injuries were not life-threatening, according to the city’s board of education. No student at the school was hurt.
The police told Japanese media that the suspect had admitted to stabbing the teacher, saying that he wanted to kill someone and did not care who it was.
They are also investigating the grisly cat killings. The first discovery was reported on Feb 13 when two front legs of a white cat were found on a park bench.
More dismembered parts emerged over the next few days, including the head and legs of a cat that were found on a road, as well as a severed cat jaw dangling from a playground railing in an elementary school.
Fearing that the cat killer could also harm young children, the police, parents and elementary schools intensified patrols of the areas near where the carcasses were found, escorted children home or made them walk in large groups.
Those found guilty of killing or harming an animal in Japan face a maximum of five years in jail or a fine of up to 5 million yen (S$49,300).
While violent crime is rare in Japan, there have been similar incidents in the past.
In 1997, two victims aged 10 and 11 were murdered in Kobe by a 14-year-old boy who also killed cats.
In 2019, 17 students from a school in Kawasaki and two parents were attacked by a man with a knife while waiting for a school bus. An 11-year-old schoolgirl and the father of an unharmed pupil were killed.
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