CNN
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At least four people were injured on Thursday after a man fired what appeared to be a hunting rifle in Nakano city in central Japan’s Nagano Prefecture, the country’s public broadcaster NHK reported.
Police received a call in the afternoon with reports that a “man stabbed a woman,” NHK reported.
When police arrived at the scene, the man fired what looked like a hunting rifle, injuring four people before fleeing and barricading himself in a building, NHK added.
NHK reported that the suspect was wearing a camouflage hat, top and bottom with sunglasses and a mask.
Nakano City urged citizens to stay indoors in a statement posted on social media Thursday.
Gun violence is rare in Japan. The country has one of the lowest rates of gun crimes in the world due to extremely strict gun control laws.
In 2018, Japan, a country of 125 million people, reported only nine deaths from firearms – compared to 39,740 that year in the United States, according to data compiled by the University of Sydney’s School of Public Health. of Sydney.
This is a breaking news story, more to follow