Tuesday's shocking incident in Toyama Prefecture, which left a police officer and an elementary school security guard dead, has highlighted the need for schools to rethink their response to such attacks because current countermeasures do not account for intrusions by gun-wielding assailants.
None of the over 400 students at Okuda Elementary School were hurt in the attack. Teachers escorted the children to the gymnasium and stayed there until the crisis was over.
Former Self-Defense Forces member Keita Shimazu, 21, who is alleged to have stabbed an officer to death at a nearby police box and stolen his gun prior to killing the guard, was later shot near the front gate of the school by another officer. The suspect remains hospitalized.