Chinese national 'pulls gun and shoots wife dead' in Tokyo restaurant
Local media reports name 54-year-old Cao Jianping as suspect in killing in Ikebukuro district of Japanese capital
A Chinese national is being questioned by police in Tokyo after being arrested for allegedly pulling out a gun in a restaurant on Sunday evening and shooting his wife dead.
The man, named in local media reports as 54-year-old Cao Jianping, has reportedly refused to reply to police questioning.
The suspect is a resident of Tokyo’s Itabashi Ward and footage taken from security cameras in the pavement cafe attached to the Sakura Hotel Ikebukuro showed the man and his wife, also Chinese, arriving and being seated at a table.
The woman, who was also in her 50s, has not been named. She sustained gunshot wounds to her jaw and chest and was rushed to a local hospital, but later confirmed dead.
There were at least 10 other patrons in the bar at the time of the shooting, but none sustained any injuries in the incident.
The suspect was seized by employees of the cafe and detained at the scene until police officers arrived. He was arrested on the spot on suspicion of attempted murder. That charge was later elevated to suspicion of murder, after the hospital confirmed that the suspect’s wife had died. Officers recovered a revolver at the scene.
The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department declined to comment on progress in the case, including a possible motive, on the grounds that their investigation remains ongoing.
The also refused to reply to questions about a possible link with underground groups, although there is much speculation on internet chat groups that the suspect was in some way involved with illegal activities.
The suspect was not apparently employed and it is very unusual for a person to be carrying a gun, which are rare in Japan. The Ikebukuro district of Tokyo also has a reputation for gang activities and has a relatively high proportion of gambling and sex businesses.
The shooting happened about 300 metres northwest of Ikebukuro Station, a known red-light district.
In a message on Twitter, a Chinese poster commented that Chinese people are earning a bad reputation in Japan for the trouble they are causing. Another stated that Chinese living here do not have to worry about problems caused by Japanese people as other Chinese already cause them enough worries.
