At least 19 dead in knife attack outside Tokyo

Police officers are seen in front of a facility for the disabled where at least 19 people were killed and as many as 20 wounded by a knife-wielding man, in Sagamihara, Kanagawa prefecture, Japan, July 26, 2016. A 26-year-old man was arrested after turning himself in at a police station. [Photo/Xinhua]

TOKYO - A knife-wielding man attacked a facility for the disabled in eastern Japan's Kanagawa prefecture early Tuesday, leaving at least 19 people died and 20 others injured, said police.

The number of the injured were confirmed at 20 after the police counted the injured in hospitals.

The 26-year old knife attack suspect, named Satoshi Uematsu, turned himself in at the Tsukui Police Station around 3 am Tuesday admitting to the attack, said police.

The police are investigating the motive behind the attack that took place at about 2:30 am at the Tsukui Yamayuri En facility (Tsukui Lily Garden), a two-storey building 2 km east of SagamiKo station in Sagamihara city, about 50 km west of downtown Tokyo, they said.

Police said the man told them that he was a former employee of the center and hoped there were no disabled in the world.

Japanese fire department medics and police staff walk inside Tsukui Yamayuri-en residential care facility for the disabled in Sagamihara, Kanazawa Prefecture, west of Tokyo, Japan, July 26, 2016. [Photo/IC]

An employee of the facility called police just after 2:30 am on Tuesday morning, who reportedly said that a man carrying a knife broke into the building, according to police.

The suspect, slight of figure, wearing black T-shirt with dyed hair, broke windows and entered the facility from the ground floor, said police.

"My child is in the facility. I rushed here as soon as I heard the news from radio. I'm very worried, but don't know what happened inside as I'm not allowed to enter," a resident nearby told local television NHK. "There had never been such a trouble here before," he added.

"I feel very angry at killing disabled children, " said another resident nearby.

The facility is built by government of Kanagawa prefecture and operated by a social welfare corporate. As of the end of June, a total of 149 mentally disabled lived in the facility. Among them, 40 persons are aged over 60 years old and 32 persons have lived in the facility for over 30 years, with the longest for 52 years. The facility provide 24 hours service, with eight staff on night duty everyday, according to information on the website of the facility.