Japanese girl stabs classmate

2004-06-01 09:12

Tokyo - A sixth-grade girl fatally stabbed a female classmate in the neck on Tuesday in a shocking attack in a school in southern Japan.

The assault happened in a classroom in Sasebo, 980 kilometres southwest of Tokyo.

Local police said the victim, who was not immediately identified, suffered wounds to the neck and arms. She was stabbed with a small knife used to cut paper.

The ages of the two girls were unclear, but they both were in grade 6, which probably makes them around 11 or 12 years old. The attack came during lunchtime, which in Japan is taken in the classroom.

Kyodo News service reported a girl had been apprehended and was being questioned. TV footage showed police guarding the school and inspecting the classroom where the attack apparently happened.

Increasing violence in Japan's schools has been a rising concern in recent years.

Last July, a 12-year-old boy was accused of kidnapping, molesting and murdering a four-year-old in the southern city of Nagasaki. In the same month, a 14-year-old boy was arrested for beating a 13-year-old classmate to death in Okinawa.

- AP