May 26, 2014
TOKYO (AFP) - Two members of Japanese girl group AKB48 were hospitalised after being attacked by a man wielding a saw at one of the band's regular meet-the-fans events, police said Monday.
Rina Kawaei, 19, and Anna Iriyama, 18, both broke bones in their right hands and received cuts on their arms and heads caused by the 50-centimetre (20-inch) saw at the event in Iwate in northern Japan.
Reports said the attack came after a mini concert early afternoon Sunday as fans were lining up to shake hands with performers inside booths.
Kawaei and Iriyama were inside the same booth when a man in the queue suddenly produced a saw, the Yomiuri daily said.
Fans told Japanese media they heard a shriek, apparently from one of the young women, saying "stop it!".
Some of the 100 or so staff and security guards at the event pounced on the attacker and held him until police arrived, reports said.
One fan described how Kawaei was covered in blood when she was taken away by medics to a waiting ambulance.
A 24-year-old man, identified as unemployed Satoru Umeta, was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder, police said.
"We have started questioning the suspect this morning to know details, including his motive," a detective with Iwate prefectural police told AFP.