3 injured in shooting at Japan army training range; teen suspect arrested
TOKYO - Three soldiers were wounded in a shooting at a military training range in central Japan's Gifu prefecture on Wednesday, a government spokesman said.
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Where did the shooting take place?
Details on the incident were scant, but local media reported two of the wounded were in critical condition.
"Around 9am (8am Singapore time) today, there was a shooting incident by a member of the Self-Defence Forces at the... Hino basic firing range and three Self-Defence Forces personnel were injured," said top government spokesman Hirokazu Matsuno.
He confirmed that a suspect had been detained, but gave no further details.
National broadcaster NHK said the suspect was a teenage member of the Self-Defence Forces, Japan's military, and had fired an automatic weapon.
The news outlet Asahi Shimbun said he is 18 years old.
Asahi Shimbun said one of those wounded was in his 50s, while the other two were in their 20s. NHK reported that one of those wounded was unresponsive.
Violent crime in Japan is extremely rare, but several high-profile incidents have rattled the country over the past year.
In July 2022, former prime minister Shinzo Abe was shot dead on the campaign trail by a man who allegedly targeted him over his links to the Unification Church.
And in April, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida escaped unharmed after a man threw an explosive device towards him at a campaign event.
Security has been tightened in the wake of the incidents, particularly around the Group of Seven leaders' summit in Hiroshima in May, which saw thousands of police officers deployed.
In May, police also detained a man accused of killing four people, including two police officers, in a knife and gun attack in Nagano prefecture, west of Tokyo. AFP, REUTERS