7 die in Tokyo Stabbing spree:
A man who police said “was tired of life” drove into a crowd of pedestrians Sunday and then went on a stabbing rampage in Tokyo’s premier electronics and video game district, killing seven people and wounding 10, authorities said.
Yes, he drove a truck into a crowd, doubtlessly injuring some of them and leaving other stunned. But it seem outlandish that he was able to stab 7 people to death with a knife. This wasn’t some samurai with a sword, just a deranged lunatic with a knife of some sort.
(Qualifier: We don’t know how many of the 7 dead and 10 wounded were killed or wounded by the truck in the opening moments of the attack. Maybe he only stabbed a couple of people after driving over and killing 5. That would at least make more sense.)
Now, Japan’s gun control is among the most restrictive in the free world, so it’s not surprising that someone didn’t use firearms to defeat the attacker. But what sort of mind-set must have been present to allow this guy to do this? Were they just standing around hoping the police would show up before the slasher got to them?
We hear a lot of stories about 70-year-old WW2 vets fighting off street hoods while outnumbered three-to-one on American streets. And, no doubt, similar things happen in Japan from time to time. But I’m not aware of any mass-stabbing attacks in the US lately.
Armed with a gun, with a backpack, or with nothing, self defense is a mind-set first.