"Euthanasia for Disabled": 19 disabled persons killed by 26-year old Japanese
The murderer, Satoshi Uematsu, had worked in the center that houses 150 disabled. He had written to parliament seeking euthanasia for the disabled who can not "be active in society." He turned himself in to the police with a bag full of knives still dirty with blood.
Tokyo (AsiaNews / Agencies) - In what has been described as the worst massacre in decades, 19 disabled people were killed last night while they slept and 25 injured in a hospice in Sagamihara, 40 km south-east of Tokyo.
Their killer, Satoshi Uematsu, 26, had been employed at the center and in the past had expressed his support for a "euthanasia for the disabled".
At 3 am, after having carried out the massacre, the young man turned himself in to police carrying a bag full of knives and sharp instruments still soiled with blood. "It 's better that people with disabilities disappear," he told police.
The Tsukui Yamayuri-En center cares for about 150 people with severe disabilities. The young assasin, who had worked at the center, last February had presented a letter to the Japanese parliament demanding euthanasia for the handicapped.
In the letter, cited by the media, he said: "My goal is a world where, in cases where it is difficult for highly disabled persons to live at home and be active in society, they can be killed by euthanasia, with the consent their guardians”.
A woman who has previously worked at the center, said that many of the patients are deeply disabled. "They are truly innocent people," she added. "What have they done?".
Among those killed there are 9 men and 10 women, aged between 17 and 70 years. Among the wounded, at least 20 are in very serious condition.
.png)
31/03/2005
