TOKYO, May 28 (Xinhua) -- Japan was filled with sadness and astonishment as a stabbing rampage close to the capital city of Tokyo on Tuesday killed an elementary school girl and a man in his 30s, which also saw the assailant die of a self-inflicted injury.
The man who went on a fatal stabbing rampage in Kawasaki shouted "I'm gonna kill you" as he waved knives in both hands, and pools of blood were left at the spot where dozens of Caritas elementary school students were attacked, according to eyewitnesses' description in a press conference.
The deaths of an 11-year-old girl and a 39-year-old man who was the father of one of the students were confirmed by hospitals. The suspect, who stabbed himself in the neck, died later at a hospital.
"I heard the children's screams at the back of the queue," said Satoru Shitori, vice principal of the elementary school in the press conference.
"I saw the criminal run toward the bus stop, waving what looked like long knives in both hands," Shitori said, describing the horror at the scene.
Toshichika Ishii, 57, who was at a park near the site, said that he saw children falling to the ground.
He said, "I heard children scream 'I'm scared' and then turned to see a man with knives shouting, 'I'm gonna kill you.'"
A bus driver who witnessed the horrible event told the police that "I tried to stop him, but he started stabbing children and others."
"He then moved dozens of meters away and stabbed his own neck," the driver said, according to the police.
A woman in her 40s who lives nearby said that she saw a rescue worker conducting a cardiac massage on a girl and "blood flowed from a man in a suit crouching on the ground and formed a pool."
Many of the victims were slashed on their necks, and may also suffer from posttraumatic stress disorder in the future, according to the hospitals treating them.
In the wake of Tuesday's attack, Masahiko Shibayama, Japan's education minister, called for redoubling of efforts to secure safety at schools.
"The government as a whole must take measures including checking the safety of routes to schools and share information on suspicious individuals," he said.
Schools in Japan have already beefed up security measures ever since a knife-wielding man killed eight students and wounded 15 others in an elementary school in Ikeda, Osaka Prefecture in 2001.
According to local media analysis, safety is still lacking although many schools lock their gates once classes start, security cameras have been introduced, and volunteers and members of parent teacher associations help on the routes leading to schools.
