Overview
- The pursuit of a suspicious light truck, which unfolded Sunday around 6:40 p.m. in Setagaya Ward, ended with a 36-year-old sergeant firing once after the vehicle hit a patrol car and tried to flee.
- An officer had jumped onto the truck’s cargo bed and warned, “Stop or I will shoot,” before the driver accelerated, according to Kitazawa Police Station.
- Police arrested the driver, identified as 20-year-old Yuto Kobayashi, on suspicion of obstructing official duties, and they released a 17-year-old passenger later that night.
- No one was hurt, and reports differ on where the bullet landed, with Mainichi citing the roof and Asahi citing the driver’s seat, which police say they are still checking.
- The Tokyo Metropolitan Police said they will determine if firing the pistol was appropriate after they review the full sequence of events.