Man shot dead by police after knife attack in Kumamoto

5 shots?! More weapons training for Japanese police? Anyway, good outcome

The attacker, believed to be in his 30s, inflicted three cuts on the face of one of the police officers. The 40-year-old officer fired five shots, four of which hit the assailant.

Geez, more nutter on the loose.

Japanese police have seemed to catch on the ways of Western society by quickly pulling out their guns and using them in the name of self defense, 1 knife vs the gun. hmmm, now it is understood why the US citizens won't give up their guns, makes perfect sense as to avoid full police excessive force and even the odds. 5 shots, really?

5 shots but only 4 hit? Where did that other shot go? Wonder if the J-police are starting to behave like the ones in the U.S.....

Don't I know why you guys are bad mouthing the five shots it's not like he was at a shooting range and the target was made out of paper the fact that he was being attacked the whole time and got five shots off four of which hit that's freaking excellent.

And he's Justified using a gun because a knife is just as deadly at close range. Or is he supposed to wait to be stabbed or sliced a certain number of times before it's okay to start shooting

Plus there are plenty of accounts of people being shot and not even realizing it and continuing their attack so you have to keep shooting until the attack stops or is he supposed to shoot once check and see what's going on again you don't have time to do that crap

Good on the cop. The Japanese police are far too unwilling to use their guns for the most part, but this was deserved.

Japanese police have seemed to catch on the ways of Western society by quickly pulling out their guns and using them in the name of self defense, 1 knife vs the gun.

Incidents like this are extreme rarities. It is unusual for a Japanese cop to even draw his sidearm, let alone discharge it. You might read about a case like this once every 4 or 5 years.

Aim for the center mass. You shoot to stop. Not to kill. If it takes 5 shots to stop him attacking, and the guy dies...that's just the way it goes.

Good on the cop.

Some of my students go home on that road after school. Very glad none of them were injured.

Really, 5 rounds expended, target 4 rounds and dirt nap time for ole boy! Seriously? Why not shoot ole boy in the leg or foot? Why drop him? 

Seriously I would have been testing my baton skills (While humming some Billy Squier), they carry collapsible batons do they not? No reason at all to dust ole boy!

LOL some people think that these things happen like in the movies - One shot, perp drops to the floor, incident over. Reality is that a moving target usually cant be taken down with one hit, especially when they are actively attacking the cop doing the shooting.

Good on the police officer for taking down the crazed knifeman. One less loonie on the streets.

Yet another random violent act. Scary trend.

Wow! Another day in japan, another knife attack. How many people are carrying knives? That's a knife attack every day for the last week.

It's very unusual for J-police to pull their guns, better less use them. It's unfortunate the crazy old fella died, but that's what happens when you bring a knife to a gun fight.

Cool. So after the attacker was shot 4 times, he was arrested at the scene for illegally carrying a knife and taken to the hospital. Nevertheless, a very rare occurrence in Japan I believe. I can hardly imagine the quarrel.

Good job police. I am not a fan of the J-Keystones and their antics but this time one did a fantastic job actually protecting the public and enforcing the public order - you know what actual police are supposed to do.

Cops did exactly what they were trained to do. I might give the J police crap sometimes but it is good to know they can do their job when it comes time.

Seriously some of you guys are saying he should have been more restrained? He shot a guy that was cutting him up! The police man did exactly what he should have.

A taser would have been just as effective and non-lethal...

@towing

Oh, come off it! How our resident knuckle-dragging gun-fun fetishists going to get their jollies that way?

Statistically speaking, Japan is extremely safe compared to other countries.

Not perfect, but as good as you'll find anywhere in terms of safety.

5 gun shots to a knife wielding suspect. Why this copper needed 5 gun shots, to stop him or silent him forever ? Self defense or revenge ?

The amount of sympathy the dead attacker is getting is quite alarming. The guy was trying to slice up some cops, and people expect a non-lethal approach!

A taser would have been just as effective

Right, let me get close enough to the knife wielding psycho with my taser and hope for the best.

When people shoot their mouth off who never shot a gun kill me in the process.

The kanji is 濁る'd - "Tatsudaguchi," named after the adjacent Tatsudayama.

I mean, people who say that the police overreacted need to wait a minute. First of all, I don't think that there is enough information in this article to tell us that. The only thing I read is that a police received cuts on the face with the knife. This sounds serious-enough that deadly force might have been warranted--but I don't know. Those knife-proof vests that Japanese police wear don't work if you get slashed in the face.

why no tasers/pepper spray !? Australian cops carry both and guns , Evan gunho American cops use tasers whenever possible if they can use a tazer/pepper spray in certain situations they can save lives. non leathal force should be applied whenever possible. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AfMcjRWESVA

Just imagine if the perp had a gun.

Japan is a relatively safe country, despite those who laud gun violence.

Those of you questioning/criticizing the police officer’s action, I ask you...have you ever been in such a situation, it is very easy to “Monday-morning quarterback” such actions. Try being in that very dynamic situation and see what you would do. You might change your mind. Don’t judge unless you know what it is you are judging.

towingthelineToday  11:12 am JST

A taser would have been just as effective and non-lethal.

Not being a dangerous criminal would have as well. He made his choice...reap it.

Is this the first person to be shot by police in Japan this year? Or in how many years?

I am a very anti-gun person, but that's EXACTLY why the Police carry guns. To use them in such cases. The nutter either wanted to commit suicide by cop, or thought he is invincible with this knife. Good riddance.

Violent Crimes rates in Japan, as with most of the world, have been dropping consistently over time. The statistics are clear, even in the US, it is true. The fact that we have access to so much more media makes it seem like crime is up, but it is way down, except for fraud and internet related crimes.

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2018/01/18/national/crime-legal/japans-crime-rate-hits-record-low-number-thefts-plummets/#.Ww03rhYpDYU

Right, let me get close enough to the knife wielding psycho with my taser and hope for the best.

The tasers polices in other countries use can shot like a gun and disable a person from a distance. It has limited range but good enough dealing with people using melee weapons like a knife. However, since the policeman in the story has no taser. It is understandable that he choose to use his gun.

J-news reported that the attacker still was able to tackle and mount the officer after being shot, and was subdued by hand.

RL is not like movies, where bad guys go down immediately after one shot.

As for “shooting for the legs” most novice shooters would struggle to hit (literally) the wide side of a barn with a pistol at any range greater than 25m.

Now try that with a madman who is probably running in unpredictable patterns and add the stress of the situation.

The average man can run 25m in 4 seconds. Let’s see you “aim for the legs” in that situation.

Handguns as a weapon are really only meant for very close-in combat or as backup weapon for an assault rifle. But do you want to see cops carrying assault rifles?

Good job, I don't care what country you live in, every cop has the right to life and every cop wants to go home at the end of the day and I don't blame any cop for using maximum force if all else fails. Now it would be nice if Japanese police would carry taser guns like in the States, but maybe in the future who knows, but if you don't comply then by all means if the last result for the cop is using his firearm justifiably then so be it.

bjohnson23May 29  07:40 am JST Japanese police have seemed to catch on the ways of Western society by quickly pulling out their guns and using them in the name of self defense, 1 knife vs the gun. hmmm, now it is understood why the US citizens won't give up their guns, makes perfect sense as to avoid full police excessive force and even the odds. 5 shots, really?

This is a bad sign. There was a time, like the day before this happened, when Japanese police officers would have disarmed/subdued someone with a knife by baton. This could have been a U.S. news report.

maybeperhapsyesMay 29  08:39 am JST Aim for the center mass. You shoot to stop. Not to kill

Except that shooting for the center mass almost always results in death. You hit someone two or more times in the chest and/or abdomen and they will likely bleed to death regardless of how quickly paramedics arrive.

This is a bad sign. There was a time, like the day before this happened, when Japanese police officers would have disarmed/subdued someone with a knife by baton. This could have been a U.S. news report.

Once the knife is close enough to cut, it is close enough to kill. It is too late for non-lethal means. The officers did nothing wrong and shouldn't be criticized.

Except that shooting for the center mass almost always results in death. You hit someone two or more times in the chest and/or abdomen and they will likely bleed to death regardless of how quickly paramedics arrive.

He doesn't mean that the intent of aiming center mass is not to kill, it is just that the specific intent is to stop the attack as quickly as possible with the best chance of hitting the target, not necessarily to kill. There's no such thing as Hollywood-style shooting to wound. The adrenaline and stress makes that virtually impossible. Real cops aren't Mel Gibson in Lethal Weapon.

Thanks to the few people posting on this thread who actually understand the reality of guns and knives in combat.

your commonsense is refreshing.

This is a rare read, a J-cop using his service firearm. Not to add to the debate about using 5 rounds (with only 4 hitting) instead of a double tap, but just remember the 21 foot rule that it takes that amount of distance for a person at full charge with blade in hand to cover before a person with a holstered weapon can draw, point and shoot.