A woman and two male police officers died on Thursday in a stabbing and shooting incident involving a man in possession of a hunting rifle in Nagano Prefecture, central Japan.
The man has holed up in a nearby building, according to the police. Another man is injured but his condition is unknown, because he is too close to the building where the suspect is located and has yet to be rescued.
The police initially received an emergency call at around 4:25 p.m. about a man stabbing a woman in Nakano, northern Nagano Prefecture. Police officers who rushed to the scene were shot.
The suspect was last seen wearing camouflage clothing, a hat, sunglasses and a mask.
Residents have been advised not to leave home for non-urgent reasons, and children still at local elementary and junior high schools were told to shelter in place.
The scene of the incident is an area dotted with homes and rice fields. A local woman in her 30s said children playing outside immediately went back home after they were alerted about a man carrying a gun on the run.