{"id":216001,"date":"2023-10-31T11:28:57","date_gmt":"2023-10-31T11:28:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bestwnews.com\/?p=216001"},"modified":"2023-10-31T11:28:57","modified_gmt":"2023-10-31T11:28:57","slug":"elderly-gunman-takes-group-of-10-hostage-in-post-office-in-japan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bestwnews.com\/world-news\/elderly-gunman-takes-group-of-10-hostage-in-post-office-in-japan\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Elderly gunman takes group of 10 hostage’ in post office in Japan"},"content":{"rendered":"

Japan: Gunman barricades himself inside post office<\/h3>\n

A shooter, thought to be in his 80s, and possibly carrying flammable liquid, is understood to have taken a group of people hostage at a post office in Japan.<\/p>\n

Local media has reported that at least two female post office workers in Warabi city, on the the south-eastern coast of Japan, have been taken hostage and it was reported by one local paper that the gunman could have as many as 10 people with him.<\/p>\n

There are also reports the shooter may be carrying paraffin or kerosene, as fears grow over large fires being started.<\/p>\n

Japanese police on Tuesday surrounded the building, where a man with a gun was holed up, and said the case may be linked to an earlier apparent shooting at a nearby hospital in which two people were wounded.<\/p>\n

Hundreds of officers are understood to have been mobilised.<\/p>\n

READ MORE: <\/strong> EU corruption warning as Macron ally says bloc \u2018must restore confidence\u2019[INSIGHT] <\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

A picture released by the AP news agency showed a woman who was apparently being kept hostage being freed. One clip showed armed police outside the post office this morning.<\/p>\n

Saitama Prefectural Police said two men – a doctor in his 40s and a patient in his 60s – were wounded after blasts resembling gunfire were heard at a general hospital in the city of Toda, just north of Tokyo. Police did not give details of how exactly the two people were injured.<\/p>\n

The two victims are both conscious and their wounds are not life-threatening, police said.<\/p>\n

Kyodo News agency said the two were believed to be inside a consultation room on the first floor when they were attacked.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n