Osaka police stormed an apartment Wednesday night and arrested a man after a 14-hour standoff in which he held a woman he was living with at knifepoint.
Investigators from the prefectural police visited the unit in the city of Hirakata’s Sakuramachi area at around 8:50 a.m. as part of a theft investigation. Upon their arrival, the suspect, 48-year-old Toru Suetsugu, allegedly seized the 42-year-old woman and barricaded himself inside the apartment.
Waving a knife, Suetsugu reportedly shouted, “I’ll stab her” and also warned, “If this is broadcast on TV, I’ll hurt her,” according to police.
Officers negotiated with the suspect via the woman’s mobile phone but he refused to surrender.
At around 10:45 p.m., police breached the apartment through the front door and the balcony, rescuing the woman, who was unharmed, and detaining Suetsugu on suspicion of unlawful confinement.
He has remained silent during questioning, according to police.
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