Eyewitnesses say teachers dragged the driver out of the car, as he sat motionless and wearing a mask having reportedly driven deliberately into the group of seven and eight year olds as they left school
Seven children were deliberately ploughed into by a car as they walked home from a primary school, with the “unremorseful” driver arrested for attempted murder.
The horror ramming attack took place in Tokyo at 1.30pm (7.30am BST) today after the youngsters had been let out of class early and were walking in groups along the road. The children were thrown by the power of the car with one seen with blood all over her face. Eyewitnesses say teachers dragged the driver out of the car, as he sat motionless and wearing a mask in the aftermath of the ramming that left a young girl “covered in blood”.
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Unemployed prime suspect Yazawa Yuki, 28, was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder. He admitted to the charges, chillingly telling police: “I was fed up with everything, so I tried to kill someone, and ran over several elementary school students with my car.”
Passersby frantically called the emergency services and ran over to help as at least seven youngsters from Senbon Elementary School in Osaka City lay injured around the car. One girl and four boys were in the second grade, with two boys involved in the third grade, they had been making their way home from school after lunch due to an early finish at the school that day.
According to Japanese news station NTV, a girl was sent to hospital with a broken jaw, while six boys were treated or minor injuries. The children are all believed to be seven or eight years old.
Eyewitnesses described chaotic scenes in what was normallya quiet residential street, about 500 metres from Kishinosato Station. The car is said to have been “zigzagging” as it hit the children, according to a witness who spoke to Nippon TV.
One parent told NTV: “The car was twisting and turning, dragging the victim along. One girl was covered in blood, and the other children looked to be bleeding from scrapes.”
Another added: “The driver didn’t get out of the car for a while, and then the teachers dragged him out. He was a masked man, in a daze.”
The area was swarmed with emergency crews and police, who arrested Yazawa at the scene. The motive behind the sickening attack is still being investigated, but officers say Yazawa has shown no remorse.
