Jan. 1, 2019 (UPI) — Nine people were injured when a man rammed a van into crowds celebrating New Year’s Eve in Tokyo, Japanese authorities said.
Police arrested Kazuhiro Kusakabe, 21, on suspicion of attempted murder as he was driving the rental van with an Osaka license plate in Tokyo’s Shibuya Ward in the attack, Japan Today reported.
Kusakabe told police he drove from Osaka with the intent of killing pedestrians he hit. He also had a tank of kerosene in the rental car, which he planned to use to light the vehicle on fire.
Investigators said Kusakabe told them he carried out the attack “in retaliation for an execution” and “would not make any excuse” for his actions.
Tokyo Metropolitan Police told CNN that they have opened an investigation into the incident, which took place 10 minutes after midnight, local time.
The people injured ranged in age from teenagers to people in their 50s, including a male university student who remains in critical condition.
