Japanese man suspected of stabbing 19 patients to death at care home believed he was being targeted by gangsters
Satoshi Uematsu had worked at the facility for mentally disabled but quit after outbursts in which he had spoken about euthanising patients
The 27-year-old suspect in a deadly stabbing rampage last July at a facility for the mentally disabled told police he sped up his plans for the attack after hearing he was being pursued by a gangster, investigative sources said on Wednesday.
Satoshi Uematsu reportedly told police an acquaintance with underworld connections informed him on July 25 that he was being targeted by a gangster. The following day, he broke into the Tsukui Yamayuri En facility in Sagamihara, Kanagawa Prefecture, where he previously worked, and killed 19 residents.
It is unclear whether the suspect had in fact been pursued by a gangster. But prosecutors have decided in a psychiatric test that Uematsu is mentally competent to stand trial and plan to indict him on Friday, the deadline of his detention period.
According to the sources, Uematsu first planned to attack the facility on October 1. But the acquaintance told him on July 25: “You are being pursued.”
He was also called by police the same day for leaving a car at a fast food restaurant in Sagamihara.
The situation made him worry that he might not be able to carry out his plot, prompting him to make preparations for the attack, including buying supplies at a nearby hardware store.
Asked why he first thought of conducting the rampage on October 1, Uematsu said he was a fan of a card game called “Illuminati” and that “1001” is a sacred number.
The psychiatric evaluation concluded Uematsu was able to judge right from wrong at the time of the crime. The suspect may have had difficulty acting rationally due to a personality disorder associated with delusion, but not to a serious extent, according to the outcome of the evaluation.
Uematsu is suspected of breaking into the facility and stabbing residents with knives in the early hours of July 26. Twenty-seven people, including three facility staffers, were also injured in the incident.
He had worked at the facility from December 2012 until February last year but quit after outbursts in which he had spoken about euthanising the disabled.
