Police were on high alert Monday morning as pupils of Oizumi Daiichi Elementary School in Nerima Ward, Tokyo, arrived, some accompanied by parents and teachers, in the wake of a nearby knife attack Friday that left three kids hurt.
"My daughter witnessed the attack and told me she didn't want to go to school," said the 37-year-old mother of a first-grader who passed through the school gate along with other pupils at 8 a.m.
Crossing guard Isamu Hiroto, 71, who tried to protect the children, was also on hand to ensure the kids got to school safely. Hiroto scuffled with the attacker, a 47-year-old man who was arrested Friday in Saitama Prefecture.