Abe Shooting Suspect Accused of Additional Offenses

Nara, Feb. 13 (Jiji Press)--Japanese police sent papers to prosecutors Monday accusing Tetsuya Yamagami, already indicted for the fatal shooting of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, of additional offenses.

Yamagami, 42, was newly accused of five offenses, including damaging a building housing a facility linked to the religious group known as Unification Church in the western city of Nara by firing a gun, and creating guns without permission.

Monday's move by the police marks an end to their seven-month investigation into the July 2022 shooting of Abe, an unprecedented murder of a former prime minister in the post-World War II period.

The police have not disclosed whether the suspect has admitted to the additional allegations.

Yamagami is suspected of damaging the exterior wall of the Nara building around 4 a.m. July 7 (7 p.m. July 6 GMT) last year by shooting metal bullets at it, allegedly committing the crime of inflicting damage on a building and violating the firearms and swords law.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]