The alleged perpetrator of a deadly knife rampage in July at a care facility for the disabled searched online for terms related to psychiatric evaluation and insanity for several months prior to the attack, investigative sources have said.
The police are looking into the possibility that Satoshi Uematsu, a 26-year-old former employee of the facility in Sagamihara, Kanagawa Prefecture, may have planned the rampage that left 19 people dead after studying cases in which suspects were not held responsible following psychiatric evaluations, as well as the judicial procedures for such cases.
On Wednesday, the Yokohama District Public Prosecutor's Office said it had placed the suspect in detention for a psychiatric assessment. The special detention, approved by the Yokohama District Court, is set to last about four months through late January.