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Police shoot man after he attacks woman, 5-year-old son with knife

32 Comments

A police officer shot and wounded a 27-year-old man after he attacked a woman and her 5-year-old son as they walked along a street in Kyoto on Tuesday night.

According to police, the incident occurred at around 7:20 p.m. in Kita Ward. Fuji TV reported that the 40-year-old woman, her son and 3-year-old daughter were walking home when a man, whom they did not know and who was walking toward them, suddenly pulled out a knife with a 6-cm blade and attacked the boy.

The boy was taken to hospital with wounds to his head and stomach and is in a stable condition, police said Wednesday. The boy's sister was unharmed.

Police said that the suspect, Takenori Konishi, had been involved in an argument with a neighbor prior to the attack. The woman called 110 at around 7:05 p.m. after Konishi pounded on her door, saying he was going to kill her.

When a police officer arrived on the scene, Konishi tried to flee. The officer fired a warning shot and then four shots into Konishi's thigh and legs after he charged at the policeman.

Police said they will wait until Konishi recovers before questioning him about his motive for the attack.

Konishi's mother told reporters on Wednesday that her son had been diagnosed as being schizophrenic and had been hospitalized in the past.

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32 Comments
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One thing I can never give enough credit to police here for it is how good they are at only using guns as a last resort, and even then only firing warning shots or shots to disable. You never see them going in guns blazing and emptying a 14 round clip into a person holding a plastic toy, or who has come to a stop at an intersection and done nothing else. Good on the officer.

24 ( +30 / -6 )

The officer fired a warning shot and then four shots into Konishi’s thigh and legs

Sorry for the guy with mental issues but, good job to the police officer for not trying to end the guy's life.

19 ( +24 / -5 )

The Japanese should be asked to train American policemen.

19 ( +24 / -5 )

The officer fired a warning shot and then four shots into Konishi’s thigh and legs after he charged at the policeman

How refreshing.

15 ( +18 / -3 )

Maybe if more officers shot these guys they would probably remember a lot more

Obviously, you don't know how mental illness works.

6 ( +6 / -0 )

Konishi’s mother told reporters on Wednesday that her son had been diagnosed as being schizophrenic and had been hospitalized in the past.

Ssssssnap! There are plenty of loons on the edge out there. Watch yourselves ladies and gentlemen.

3 ( +5 / -2 )

Good on the Police Officer for going for the wounding rather than the kill! Now this maniac will face the consequences instead of taking the easy way out and suiciding by cop

3 ( +7 / -4 )

Many of these folks aren't actually in law enforcement. This officer still did his job, but was not efficient. Believe it or not, shooting center mass doesn't always result in death. Unless you keep shooting more than once/twice. Shooting below could have also easily hit the perpetrator's groin, abdominal wall, or one of those wonderful arteries which still could have been fatal.

Besides, one thing many are forgetting is the types of criminals the US has to deal with compared to Japan. Many officers in the US wish they had criminals like in Japan.

3 ( +4 / -1 )

This doesn't add up. The guy tried to run, the police fired a shot, then he ran AT the police

I guess it was the schizophrenia talking.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

When I was taught by the police department to shoot, it was to aim for "center mass," and not to aim for the legs, arms, or other parts. When you try to shoot at someone's arm, the bullet will likely miss, and travel along until it hits something (or someone) else. When shooting low at someone's, the bullets bounce off the ground and land who knows where. The logic behind shooting center mass is that when you shoot, you want to hit what you are shooting at. If you miss, your life is at risk, not to mention the lives of other people.

The officer in the above shooting was lucky to have knocked the attacker down, a Japanese revolver holds only 6 rounds, and likely only 5 if they keep the hammer on an empty chamber. If he the officer had missed, the attacker might very well have stabbed him as well. People underestimate how lethal knives are, your odds of surviving a stabbing are less than surviving a gunshot would. Knife wounds are clean, and bleed heavily, gunshot wounds are messy, and bleed out more slowly.

For those who say officers should shoot to injure and not to kill, you have no idea how hard it is to hit a live target with a handgun. Even trained officers who practice regularly are lucky if one shot in five actually hits the target. And then there are those suspects who are shot, yet keep on coming.

The officer in the story was very lucky, but not very smart.

2 ( +9 / -7 )

Jalapeno- that's street execution. Not something generally acceptable in the modern world.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Contrary to what many of you posted,, Japanese cops would not last a second in the States and could not come close to instructing a cop there better than the training they get now. Different environ, different type of criminal, concealed weapons, etc. require different measures. II don't condone the spate of cop shootings of innocents in America but most cops are not there trying to kill people at every turn. Their jobs in America are inherently more dangerous and their lives are almost always on the line. When was the last time you saw someone in the U.S. attack a mother and child with a SIX cm. knife? Usually, it's a gun, butcher knife, meat cleaver, baseball bat, switchblade or assault weapon. Japanese cops are lucky in that way.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

HonestDictators: Many officers in the US wish they had criminals like in Japan.

Before the gangsters in the TV shows threaten the poor family for not paying debt on time, they put on house slippers at the vestibule.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Not a fan of the "warning shot" . The bullet has to go somewhere. If he thought to fire straight into the ground, then maybe okay. But if he fired upward, the bullet will come back down at the same speed somewhere else, possibly killing somebody.

1 ( +3 / -2 )

The problem is more fundamental on much of the planet: far too many mentally challenged and/or dangerous people than there are trained to take care of them.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Good work on the part of the officer but I don't agree with firing warning shots, that's a recipe for disaster.

He could just as easily shouted a clear intention to use his firearm unless impracticable. Dcog, police shoot to stop the threat, it's not all about shooting to wound or kill.

0 ( +3 / -3 )

Konishi tried to flee. The officer fired a warning shot and then four shots into Konishi’s thigh and legs after he charged at the policeman.

This doesn't add up. The guy tried to run, the police fired a shot, then he ran AT the police?

0 ( +2 / -2 )

Firing a warning shot in a populated area is a bad idea. Having said that, bullets do not fall at the same velocity that they are fired from the gun. If this officer fired his gun straight up, the bullet should have fell back to earth at around 150 to 250 feet per second or whatever was the terminal velocity for the weight of the bullet and atmospheric conditions It would hurt like hell if it hit you, but the chances of being lethal are small. If he fired it at an angle, say 45 degrees it would travel much further at a declining speed from the muzzle velocity of the handgun, which would be much more dangerous. Yes Virginia, bullets do bounce or ricochet. Firing at the ground or in front of the target is very dangerous. Bottom line? Shoot the perp to kill after having made the decision to fire your weapon.

0 ( +2 / -2 )

https://www.full30.com/video/9030f86490b70a13d01f3244842a91c2

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Everybody likes to critique Japanese police, but from my experience, they are the fairest in the world as regards to treatment of citizens. Black in America, shot dead, poor in the favalas, shot dead. Muslim in Melbourne, beating and detained. List goes on. I know prison system is rotten, but I take my hat off to them for being less corrupt and less threatening to the ordinary citizen. Unless you live in Okinawa...

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Every time unarmed black kid get shot and killed by cop(s) in USA, the shooters get paid desk duty, innocent at trial, then bullet proof vest sales go up. White people buy, too. Often Christmas present,

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Th article doors not say crowded area.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

The timeline in the article makes no sense. Sounds like two different scenarios. Was he already wounded from the 7:05 shooting when he stabbed the boy on the sidewalk in the head at 7:20pm? Confused.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

US news video showed a. man running a cop. chased and shot from behind showed as evidence. Verdict. Cops shot for self defense. He was scared a black man was. running on street. So he had to shoot from behind.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

@sangetsu, exactly. There is a video on "full30" dot com that has a guy surrounded in a jungle by cops and he just movee fast and took 4 of the out before they could eventually hit him.

-1 ( +5 / -6 )

I agree with Mike I In USA,, police shooting usually wind up killing innocent youngsters. In some states. In Japan, warning first?

-2 ( +1 / -3 )

They waiting to interview him over his motive!!!! DAH! The bloke is mental and he need to be a in a look down ward. away from people. And why are the police not trained to kill. This is a prefect example of when to use your gun to it full potential.

-2 ( +1 / -3 )

Alex - someone goes after a kid, or you, with a knife, you execute him. Society has one less nut job who could harm or kill others.

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

Nice to see a country where the cops save lives instead of taking them.

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

hmm, another guy that was insecure let out into the public like the guy that killed all those people in the nursing home. Interesting that the police shot him in the leg though, all police and security guards are trained to go for the biggest body mass which is the chest and advised not to go for the trick shots. Maybe they were going for his chest and was a bad shot?

-9 ( +2 / -11 )

Maybe if more officers shot these guys they would probably remember a lot more

-16 ( +1 / -17 )

Frank - Should've ended the guy's life. Society could do without someone attacking a child with blade. I don't want to see tax money spent on keeping this guy holed up in some penitentiary.

-18 ( +9 / -27 )

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