8 students injured in Japan university hammer attack

A banner (L) for Hosei University is pictured near the entrance to its Tama campus after a woman brandished a hammer inside a classroom, in Machida in the western suburbs of Tokyo on January 10, 2025. Eight people were wounded in a hammer attack at the Japan university on January 10, with a 22-year-old student arrested at the scene, Japanese media said. —PHILIP FONG/AFP

TOKYO—Eight Tokyo university students attacked by a hammer-wielding woman in a classroom are recuperating and none required hospitalization, their school said.

A 22-year-old student who identified herself as South Korean was arrested on the spot Friday on suspicion of assault, a Tokyo police spokesperson told AFP.

Several reports had said people were seen bleeding from the head after the attack, which public broadcaster NHK said had been motivated by frustration over bullying, citing investigative sources.

The attacker began swinging a hammer in the classroom “all of a sudden,” a student who witnessed the incident told Japanese broadcaster TV Asahi.

“Everyone was panicking. I was so scared at first that my hands were shaking.” “We will cooperate with police investigations and care for students and faculty shocked by the incident,” Hosei University said.

AFP

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