A 51-year-old real estate broker in custody on a gun-possession charge was served a new warrant Friday in connection with the fatal shooting of a security guard last month at Kuhonbutsu Joshinji Temple in Tokyo's Setagaya Ward.
According to the Metropolitan Police Department, Kim Un Sik, an Osaka resident of South Korean nationality, entered the temple grounds with another man on the night of Sept. 9.
He allegedly shot security guard Kazuo Nemoto, 45, with a pistol near the entrance to the residence of the temple's priest, Eiseki Shimizu. Although the two intruders fled the scene, Kim was quickly captured. The other man, who was not identified, remains at large.
An autopsy on Nemoto showed the bullet that killed him came from the gun Kim possessed when apprehended, police said.
Kim has already been indicted for violating the Firearm and Sword Control Law. He admitted shooting the guard with the intention to kill, according to police.
In the early morning hours of Sept. 18, bullet marks were found at the Suginami Ward home of the elder sister of the priest.
On Sept. 21, four members of a rightist group based in Tokyo were arrested in a separate case in which they allegedly threatened another security guard at the temple.
The top adviser of this group is Kim's younger brother. Because the group was active in attacking the temple regarding its internal affairs, police said they were investigating the connection between the guard's murder and the rightist activities.