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Police in Kobe, Hyogo Prefecture, are searching for a man who is believed to be behind three air gun shootings in the city, which have so far injured two elderly men.
According to police, at around 5:55 a.m. on Thursday, a 78-year-old man was taking a walk in Nagata Ward when a car approached him and a man sitting in the front passenger seat aimed an air gun at him and shot him several times. Two plastic bullets hit the elderly man’s face, leaving him bleeding from the mouth and cheek, Sankei Shimbun reported.
The injured man told police that the shooter looked to be in his late teens and was in a yellowish car, which was driven by another man.
In a separate case on the same day, at around 5:10 a.m., a woman reported to police that she heard what seemed like gunshots while she was walking along a street in Chuo Ward. Plastic bullet fragments were found at the scene, police said.
At 6:30 a.m., another man, 70, was shot by an air gun in the face while waiting for the bus at a bus stop in Hyogo ward. The bullet broke the lens in his glasses, police said.
Police believe that the same man is behind all the incidents.
© Japan Today
10 Comments
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Luddite
Targeting elderly people and shooting them in the face. Those responsible are psycopaths.
macv
wow some scary stuff
starpunk
This little snot probably thinks he's being cute. He needs some jail time for these childish stunts.
nandakandamanda
These airguns can be modified to take a more powerful gas cartridge, although doing so has been made illegal. These guys do not seem to be the kind to bother about the law too much.
Disillusioned
This is not an isolated incident. I've seen three or four loons carrying gas rifles and pistols around late at night while walking their dogs over the years I've been here. I had one idiot shoot at me from 50m away a few years ago. I heard the pellet bounce across the road in front of me. I yelled at him and chased him. He disappeared into the labyrinth of back streets, but I did find his rifle, which he had dropped fearing persecution. I smashed it and left it there for him to pick up later. Some of these high powered and modified gas guns can be nearly as dangerous as a real gun at close range.
serendipitous1
This is Japan's equivalent of a serial killer with a gun in the US.
Monozuki
Wow. Very scary. Chances are that the two elderly men may have thought for a moment they were shot by a real gun. Hope police catch the criminal ASAP.
shogun36
Then it's just a matter of time before they find him............
kurisupisu
Yellow;it's not a very popular color so the offender should be located fairly quickly I imagine.....
nandakandamanda
I used to have a yellow car in Japan, and yes, it was pretty rare.
These two could have come into Kobe from any of several surrounding districts, including Osaka or Himeji even. The police will be checking traffic cams I hope.