The two AKB48 members attacked by a 24-year-old man with a saw during a fan event in Takizawa, Iwate Prefecture, on Sunday were standing in line at the entrance of a tent and were probably hit immediately after the man entered it, police said Monday.
Police, who arrested Satoru Umeta on the spot Sunday on suspicion of attempted murder, speculate that he managed to enter the venue with a folding saw hidden in a bag.
Umeta told police that he intended to kill someone, but no one in particular, and police are looking into his motives.