Crime & Courts

Driver to Be Arrested on Suspicion of Attempted Murder; Suspect Confessed to Ibaraki Prefecture Crash, Police Say

Yomiuri Shimbun
A car crashed into this open area in front of the Hitachi city government building in Ibaraki Prefecture on Dec. 6.

The Yomiuri Shimbun

15:20 JST, December 28, 2023

MITO — A new arrest warrant will be issued Thursday on suspicion of attempted murder for a man who allegedly drove into a crowd in front of the Hitachi city government building in Ibaraki Prefecture on Dec. 6.

According to investigators, 53-year-old Yutaka Mashiko is suspected of trying to kill people by driving into an open space in front of the city government building where an event was being held at around 1 p.m. on the day.

Mashiko hit four people, including a woman in her 40s whose left leg was broken in the incident.

About 30 minutes later, Mashiko’s car rammed into the main entrance of the Tokai municipal government building in the same prefecture, about 15 kilometers from the first crash site. Mashiko was arrested on Dec. 6 for allegedly damaging the government building.

He has admitted to investigators that he committed both crimes, and said he had been having trouble with his mother and other relatives, according to the police.