A group of schoolchildren waiting for a bus have been attacked by a knife-wielding man in a Japanese city just south of Tokyo.

At least 18 people were injured on a residential street in Kawasaki. Two of them, a 12-year-old girl and a 39-year-old man, are dead.

A suspect, a man in his 50s, reportedly stabbed himself in the neck and was later detained. He has now also died from his injuries.

The motive for the attack is unknown. Sixteen of those injured are said to be schoolgirls, according to news site Kyodo.

Police responding to the incident recovered two knives at the scene, said NHK.

A spokesman for the Kawasaki Fire Department said that an emergency call was received at 07:44 local time on Tuesday (22:44 GMT Monday) stating that a number of schoolchildren had been stabbed.

A school bus driver told NHK that he had seen the suspect approach a queue of students who were reportedly waiting to board their bus to the nearby Caritas private school in a residential area in Kawasaki.

The suspect began stabbing the children and then boarded the bus and stabbed children inside as well.

A male eyewitness said: "I saw a man lying near a bus stop bleeding."

"I also saw elementary schoolchildren lying on the ground... It's a quiet neighbourhood, it's scary to see this kind of thing happen," he added.

The deceased man sustained four neck wounds, according to local reports.

BBC
BDST: 1157 HRS, MAY 28, 2019
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