Former colleagues of the man held over the fatal shooting of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe are in disbelief that such a "totally ordinary" person could be behind the horrific attack that sent shockwaves across the country and the world.
Tetsuya Yamagami was arrested at the scene Friday and will be sent to prosecutors on charges of murder. A former colleague at the Kyoto Prefecture factory where he recently worked for over a year and a half described how he had "seemed earnest" before arguments and unauthorized absences that started this year precipitated his leaving the company.
At a news conference Saturday, a senior employee at the factory said Yamagami was hired through a dispatch agency in October 2020 and assigned to the freight department. As a holder of a forklift driver's license, he was tasked with transporting goods.