A 28-year-old man was arrested Tuesday for allegedly storming into an apartment building in Tokyo's Bunkyo Ward sometime Monday evening and bludgeoning a 78-year-old man to death and seriously wounding his 97-year-old mother.
Police identified the man as Akira Matsuzaki, a plumber residing in the city of Kawaguchi, Saitama Prefecture.
According to investigators, Iwao Ueno and his mother, Tomiko, were found unconscious in their apartment Tuesday morning by Ueno's 47-year-old son, who lives in the same building.
Ueno, who had sustained several blows to his body and head, later died. His mother suffered serious injuries to her shoulder.
Police found Matsuzaki on the veranda of an adjacent apartment and arrested him on suspicion of murder and attempted murder.
Matsuzaki told investigators he broke into the apartment through a window, where he was confronted by Ueno, holding a wooden sword. Matsuzaki snatched the weapon from the man and hit him and his wife several times with it, police quoted him as saying.
Matsuzaki told police he was working at a construction site near the apartment building Monday and work was not going well. He felt that someone was chasing him and ran, police said.
Matsuzaki, who did not recall how he came to Ueno's apartment, said he decided not to run away because it would be no use.