A Japanese police officer was stabbed several times in the chest with a kitchen knife and his loaded handgun stolen while on patrol on Sunday morning in the western city of Suita, in a rare case of violent crime in Japan, public broadcaster NHK reported.
The attack, which police believe may have been pre-meditated, sparked a manhunt with police using loudspeakers at a railway station to warn people to be on alert.
The stabbing comes two weeks before Japan hosts a leaders' summit of the Group of 20 major economies in the neighbouring city of Osaka. It also follows an incident last month in which a knife-wielding middle-aged man killed a girl and an adult, injuring another 17 people near Tokyo.
Violent crime is relatively rare in Japan but occasional high-profile incidents have shocked the nation.
"It's scary that handgun was stolen. I want this to be resolved quickly," a male neighbour said.
"A kindergarten's open day was cancelled due to this incident. My kids cannot go out. It's scary," another man said.
The 26-year-old police officer was found lying on the ground with a kitchen knife stabbed in his left chest around 5:30 am. Sunday (2030GMT), reported NHK.
He was attacked in front of a police box as he likely followed two officers after a telephone call reporting a theft.
Police suspect the attack may have been pre-meditated as there was no theft and a security camera showed a man, who appeared in his 30s, hanging around the police box about an hour before the stabbing, said NHK.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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