KYOTO, July 19
A man suspected of torching an animation studio and killing 33 persons in Japan’s worst mass killing in two decades had been convicted of robbery and carried out the attack because he believed his novel had been plagiarized, media said on Friday.
Public broadcaster NHK, which identified the 41-year-old man as Shinji Aoba, said he served time in prison for robbing a convenience store east of Tokyo in 2012 and, after his release, lived in facilities for former convicts.
The attack on Thursday targeting the well-known animation studio, Kyoto Animation, killed 33 persons and 10 were in critical condition, authorities said. It was the worst mass killing in a country with one of the world’s lowest crime rates since a suspected arson attack in Tokyo killed 44 people in 2001.
Aoba wheeled a trolley carrying a bucket of petrol to the entrance of the building before dousing the area, shouting “die” and setting it ablaze on Thursday. “I did it,” Aoba told police when he was detained, Kyodo news said, adding that he had started the fire because he believed the studio had stolen his novel. — Reuters
Tearful adieu
Mourners gathered at the site of Japan’s worst mass killing in 18 years on Friday, laying flowers and offering prayers for the 33 persons killed in the arson attack. “I imagine many of the people who died were in their 20s. I’m just very, very sad that these people who are so much younger than me passed away so prematurely,” said Kozo Tsujii, 71, fighting back tears after laying flowers near the studio.
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