A 33-year-old woman was arrested on Thursday for allegedly spraying a substance in the restroom of an Osaka department store the previous day, sending 14 people to the hospital with pain in their eyes and throats.
The suspect, identified as Misao Yamagishi, a resident of the city of Osaka’s Abeno Ward, admitted to the allegations and said the substance was pepper spray, according to the police.
On Wednesday at about 1:30 p.m., the Osaka Fire Department said a security guard reported something being sprayed and multiple people coughing after detecting a strange smell in a women’s restroom on the ninth floor of the Hankyu Department Store in the city of Osaka’s Kita Ward.
An 85-year-old woman said she was sprayed with a substance as she was exiting a stall in the restroom. The woman and 13 others were taken to a hospital for their symptoms. No one was severely injured. The 85-year-old victim said she saw the suspect, who she didn’t know, flee the scene.
Other than the 14, five others reported eye pain but were not taken to a hospital, according to local police.
An investigation by the Osaka city fire department did not detect any hazardous substances.
Osaka Prefectural Police and other authorities are investigating the details of the incident.
Information from Kyodo added
