Tokyo Police Arrest Man Who Ran after Attacking Boy with Hammer

Tokyo, May 1 (Jiji Press)--Tokyo police arrested a 44-year-old man on Friday on suspicion of attempted murder after he allegedly attacked a high school student with a hammer and fled the scene on Wednesday.

By analyzing security camera footage and other information, the Metropolitan Police Department found the suspect, Teruyuki Takabayashi, hiding in an apartment in the city of Narashino, Chiba Prefecture, east of Tokyo. He did not resist arrest, according to investigative sources.

Takabayashi, whose occupation is unknown, is suspected of repeatedly striking the 17-year-old student in the face near his home in the Tokyo city of Fussa around 7:15 to 7:25 a.m. on Wednesday.

He arrived at the scene with a hammer after his mother warned the student and others about making noise. He also sprayed liquid at responding police officers, the sources said.

The suspect was believed to have holed up in his home with a survival knife after the incident, but he was not there when police officers stormed his home around noon that day. The MPD then placed him on the public wanted list.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]