Crime?? in Japan?!?

From early this morning, I could hear alot of sirens, then helicopters.  The helicopters have been going all day long.  I knew this wasn't something good.


A man stabbed a police officer in front of a koban (like a mini neighborhood police station, usually manned by 1 or 2 officers) near a train station.  Stabbings/slashings aren't too rare, especially as the weather warms up and all the crazies & pervs emerge from hibernation.  BUT, the suspect stole the officer's gun.  This ups the danger level to 11. 


I also received notification that if the suspect isn't caught by 9am tomorrow, school will be closed for the day.  I wonder if this isn't taking things a bit too far, considering how difficult this makes things for families with both parents working/single parent families.  If school is cancelled, the after school care is also cancelled. 


In some countries, where pretty much everyone has guns, this wouldn't be a big deal, I guess.  It highlights how generally SAFE Japan is.  However, even in Japan, crime does happen, so you shouldn't let your guard down too much.




EDIT:  The suspect was arrested the next morning, just over 24 hours after the initial crime.  It was early enough so most schools were able to open as normal, some with slight delays.  More information keeps coming, but this guy came here from Tokyo on purpose.  He called in a fake robbery report to get most of the officers out of the koban.  It's been said that earlier this year, he was trying to get the addresses of classmates from his school days (he used to live around here until he went to university in Tokyo), so it's possible he wanted some very very late revenge for some childhood slight?  He's also certified as "mentally ill", though at the risk of sounding insensitive to people with actual mental illness, how bad could his illness be if he was able to put this plan into motion?