A 63-year-old man was killed in a random knife attack on a street in Makiminato, Urasoe City, Saturday morning.

According to Urasoe Police, a 21-year-old man claiming to be a university student attacked 63-year-old Kazuo Hori of Uechi, Okinawa City, and stabbed him multiple times in neck and body with a kitchen knife while Hori, riding on a motor scooter, was waiting on a street at a traffic light. The attack occurred about 10:10 a.m. on Feb. 21, on a street in Makiminato Urasoe City.

Urasoe Police arrested a 21-year-old man claiming to be a college student from Ginowan City after 20 minutes of the incident, walking on a street about 400 meters away from the site of the attack on suspicion of an attempted murder. The charge was later changed to murder after it became known that the victim died.

According to Urasoe Police, the suspect approached his victim from front and suddenly charged down on him and stabbed him on neck several times with a kitchen knife. Hori was taken to a hospital in a cardiac and respiratory arrest, and was confirmed dead about an hour and half later.

Hori had stopped at a traffic light on a moped when the attack occurred.  Investigators say the attacker and victim had no prior connection with each other. According to eyewitnesses, the suspect had been muttering something that did not make sense prior to the attack, like roaring and shouting out. However, Urasoe Police officials say that he has remained silent since his arrest.

The location of the incident is a busy high-traffic area surrounded by commercial facilities, hospital and fast food shops.

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