A male teen held for allegedly stabbing a female high school student in the city of Kagoshima earlier this month told police his target "could be anyone," investigative sources said Sunday.
Given that the 15-year-old chased his 16-year-old target around after stabbing her on Jan. 7, and that he was also stalking a woman after purchasing a knife on the Saturday just before his arrest, the police believe he may have been preparing to attack a woman indiscriminately, the sources said.
The boy admitted to the charges.
According to the police, the junior high school student is suspected of stabbing the girl in the abdomen and back several times near a park in Kagoshima.
She told the police that she was being followed by a man and was stabbed as she turned around. Although the boy chased her in the park, he fled when she tried to call the police with her smartphone.
The victim was severely injured and taken to a hospital. Because one of the stab wounds reached her kidneys, doctors said it would take a month for her to fully recover. She was discharged from the hospital on Jan. 15.