Police storm hijacked bus in Japan, 1 dead, suspect in custody

Japanese storm a hijacked bus Wednesday, freeing hostages and arresting an armed teen-ager

May 4, 2000
Web posted at: 10:06 a.m. HKT (0206 GMT)

HIROSHIMA, Japan (CNN) -- Dozens of police in riot gear stormed a bus Thursday in which at least eight people were being held hostage by a teen wielding a knife. The suspect was captured.

The police used gas and smashed through the bus windows, escorting passengers to safety and ending the day-long hijacking in which one woman was stabbed to death and several other passengers injured.

Police said the teen had taken over the bus with about 20 passengers aboard in Yamaguchi Prefecture, leading police on a chase as he held the driver at knifepoint.

	MESSAGE BOARD
Japan

Police said they became aware of the hijacking when the hijacker allowed a woman off near the city of Moji to go to the bathroom and she escaped.

As police gave chase, two people crawled out of windows of the bus to escape.

At another point near a tunnel, four people were released from the bus, one of them injured, police said.

One of the two women who crawled out a window said she saw the man stab two passengers.

After a high speed chase with police on the Sanyo Expressway , the bus was forced off an expressway into a parking lot where four more passengers were released.

One woman, who had been stabbed in the neck, died at a hospital. Another woman was stabbed in the chest. A third hostage said he had been beaten.

Authorities allowed the bus to leave the parking lot when the hijacker held a knife to the throat of a hostage, police said. The bus pulled away with police cars around it, but soon pulled off at a gas station where negotiations continued.

Police said seven passengers and the driver were believed still aboard the bus around the time of the raid.

For more ASIANOW news, myCNN.com will bring you news from the areas and subjects you select.

Higashi-Hiroshima City Home Page
Prime Minister's Official Residence
Hiroshima City Transportation Museum
Photos of Japan: Japanese Transportation

Note: Pages will open in a new browser window

External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.