View source for Saitama school attacker admits to cat mutilations

[[Category:February 2023]]
[[Category:March 2023]]
[[Category:Long-term_Incidents]]
[[Category:Saitama Prefecture]]
[[Category:Cats]]
[[Category:HumanVictims]]
{{Infobox Case
| case_name = Saitama School Attack and Cat Mutilations
| location = Toda and Saitama City, Saitama Prefecture, Japan
| date_of_incident = February–March 2023
| type_of_abuse = Physical harm
| perpetrator = 17-year-old male high school student
| case_status = Perpetrator sentenced to a juvenile training school
| image = Saitama School Attack and Cat Mutilations case.png
| caption = Toda Shiritsu Misasa Junior High School, where the attack happened.
| species = Cats
}}
{{Infobox Person of Interest
| name = Unnamed male high school student
| status = Incarcerated in a juvenile training school
| age = 17 (at time of offense)
| occupation = High school student
| involvement = Perpetrator of the February 2023 Saitama cat mutilations and the March 1, 2023, attack at Misasa Junior High School.
| punitive_measure = Sent to a juvenile training school for long-term correctional education.
| pii_status = Private
| title = Attempted murder suspect and cat abuser
}}
The '''Saitama School Attack''' refers to an attempted murder incident at a junior high school in Toda, Saitama, on March 1, 2023.<ref name="japantimes_20230302">{{cite web|url=https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2023/03/02/national/crime-legal/saitama-school-stabbing-details/|title=Details emerge on teenage suspect in stabbing at Saitama school|website=The Japan Times|date=March 2, 2023|access-date=September 8, 2025}}</ref> The perpetrator, a 17-year-old male high school student, was thwarted by a 60-year-old male teacher, who sustained serious injuries while protecting his students.<ref name="japantimes_20230302" /> An investigation revealed the student was responsible for a series of cat mutilations in Saitama City during February 2023, which he framed as a prelude to killing a person.<ref name="straitstimes_20230302">{{cite web|url=https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/east-asia/japan-high-school-student-arrested-for-stabbing-teacher-admits-to-mutilating-multiple-cats|title=Japan high school student arrested for stabbing teacher, admits to mutilating multiple cats|website=The Straits Times|date=March 2, 2023|access-date=September 8, 2025}}</ref>

== Precursor: Saitama cat mutilations ==
[[File:From TBS NEWS DIG Powered by JNN on Youtube, weeks before the school attack..png|none|thumb|450x450px|From '''TBS NEWS DIG Powered by JNN''' on Youtube, weeks before the school attack.]]
In February 2023, a series of gruesome discoveries of dismembered cat remains occurred across Saitama City, primarily in the Minami and Sakura wards.<ref name="saitama_np_cat_remains_20230227">{{cite web|url=https://www.saitama-np.co.jp/articles/16356/postDetail|title=猫の死骸、上半身と下半身に分かれ、別々の場所で発見... 相次ぐ|website=Saitama Shimbun|date=February 27, 2023|access-date=September 8, 2025|language=ja}}</ref> The incidents prompted increased police patrols and safety alerts to local schools.<ref name="bunshun_20230302">{{cite web|url=https://bunshun.jp/articles/-/61040|title=「サカキバラ事件って知ってますか?」“猫殺し”と戸田市中学校侵入|website=Bunshun Online|date=March 2, 2023|access-date=September 8, 2025|language=ja}}</ref> The perpetrator's modus operandi involved dismembering the cats with a sharp instrument and deliberately placing the remains in public areas.<ref name="saitama_np_cat_remains_20230227" /> Police noted a lack of blood at the discovery sites, indicating the animals were killed elsewhere before their parts were transported and displayed.<ref name="saitama_np_cat_remains_20230227" />
[[File:2023 Saitama school attack and cat mutilations 1.png|none|thumb|450x450px|From '''東海テレビ NEWS ONE''' on Youtube, after the school attack.]]
{| class="wikitable"
|+ Chronology of Cat Mutilation Incidents in Saitama City, February 2023
! Date of Discovery
! Location
! Discovered Remains
! Key Forensic Notes
|-
| February 13, 2023
| Arakawa Saiko Park, Minami Ward
| Two front paws of a white cat, placed on a park bench.
| Discovered by a park official.<ref name="straitstimes_20230302" /> The paws appeared to be intentionally and cleanly severed.<ref name="fnn_20230217">{{cite web|url=https://www.fnn.jp/articles/-/487929|title=「猫の一部がぶら下がっている」 小学校の鉄棒に“あご”が... 公園では“切断された前足”2本がベンチに|website=FNN Prime Online|date=February 17, 2023|access-date=September 8, 2025|language=ja}}</ref>
|-
| February 16, 2023
| Arakawa Saiko Park, Minami Ward
| A cat's torso, missing its jaw and hind legs.
| Found in a wooded area within the same park as the first discovery.<ref name="saitama_np_cat_remains_20230227" />
|-
| February 17, 2023
| Nishi-Urawa Elementary School, Minami Ward
| A cat's jaw, hung by a string from a horizontal bar (鉄棒) in the schoolyard.
| The school was closed early as a result of the discovery.<ref name="saitama_np_cat_remains_20230227" />
|-
| February 26, 2023 (AM)
| Field in Kanda, Sakura Ward
| The lower half of a cat's body.
| No bloodstains were found at the scene.<ref name="saitama_np_cat_remains_20230227" />
|-
| February 26, 2023 (PM)
| City road in Okubo Ryoke, Sakura Ward
| The upper half of a cat's body.
| Found approximately 300 meters from the morning's discovery; police believe it belonged to the same cat.<ref name="saitama_np_cat_remains_20230227" />
|}

== The school attack ==
At around 12:20 PM on March 1, 2023, the 17-year-old suspect rode a bicycle to '''Toda Municipal Misasa Junior High School''' (戸田市立美笹中学校).<ref name="japantimes_20230302" /> He entered through an unlocked main gate, deliberately choosing the noon hour when he believed students would be concentrated in their classrooms.<ref name="xinhua_20230301">{{cite web|url=https://english.news.cn/20230301/4600e3a43ac74dbd9f4a5010929c98c6/c.html|title=Teen arrested for allegedly stabbing teacher in school near Tokyo|website=Xinhua|date=March 1, 2023|access-date=September 8, 2025}}</ref>

The suspect proceeded to the third floor and attempted to force his way into a classroom where students were taking an exam.<ref name="japantimes_20230302" /> The exam invigilator, a 60-year-old male teacher, intercepted the intruder, blocking his path.<ref name="xinhua_20230301" /> During the ensuing struggle, the suspect stabbed the teacher repeatedly in his arms and abdomen.<ref name="japantimes_20230302" /> Other staff members arrived to help subdue and disarm the attacker.<ref name="japantimes_20230302" /> Police arrested the suspect at the scene on suspicion of attempted murder.<ref name="xinhua_20230301" />

The teacher was hospitalized with serious, non-life-threatening injuries, and no students were physically harmed.<ref name="straitstimes_20230302" /> He later suffered from long-term effects, including paralysis in his left hand.<ref name="saitama_np_teacher_recovery_20230901">{{cite web|url=https://www.saitama-np.co.jp/articles/36312/postDetail|title=あの日、教室で... 生徒守り負傷の男性教諭、教壇復帰も残るまひ 同僚も心に傷/戸田・中学校刺傷(上)|website=Saitama Shimbun|date=September 1, 2023|access-date=September 8, 2025|language=ja}}</ref>

== Investigation and legal outcome ==
The perpetrator was a 17-year-old student from Saitama City who had no connection to the school he attacked.<ref name="japantimes_20230302" /> He told police his motive was a desire to "experience killing" and that he "wanted to kill someone and did not care who it was."<ref name="japantimes_20230302" />
[[File:2023 Saitama school attack news report.png|none|thumb|450x450px|The school attack suspect admitted to cat mutilations.]]
During questioning, the suspect confessed to the series of cat killings.<ref name="straitstimes_20230302" /> He stated he had "got tired of killing cats and gradually came to think only of wanting to break a person."<ref name="youtube_psychologist_20230302">{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6rnaYvk0od0|title=過去の少年事件とも“共通点 ...17歳高校生が教員に切りつけた殺人未遂事件 犯罪心理学の専門家の見解は|website=YouTube|date=March 2, 2023|access-date=September 8, 2025|language=ja}}</ref>

On June 16, 2023, police referred the suspect to prosecutors for violating the Act on Welfare and Management of Animals, in addition to the attempted murder charge.<ref name="animal_cruelty_charge_20231008">{{cite web|url=https://kobeneko-happy.com/pdf/20231008shiryo.pdf|title=こちら|website=神戸市人と猫との共生推進協議会|date=October 8, 2023|access-date=September 8, 2025|language=ja}}</ref> In September 2023, the Saitama Family Court issued a "protective disposition," sending the teenager to a juvenile training school for long-term correctional education.<ref name="saitama_np_teacher_recovery_20230901" />

== Aftermath ==
The attack prompted the Toda City government to overhaul safety measures at all 18 municipal schools.<ref name="toda_city_response_20230330">{{cite web|url=https://www.city.toda.saitama.jp/uploaded/attachment/58887.pdf|title=事件発生からこれまでに対応した主な取組|website=Toda City|date=March 30, 2023|access-date=September 8, 2025|language=ja}}</ref> The reforms included:
* The deployment of qualified security guards.<ref name="toda_city_response_20230330" />
* Installation of auto-locking gates and camera-linked intercoms.<ref name="saitama_np_autolock_20231114">{{cite web|url=https://www.saitama-np.co.jp/articles/42508/postDetail|title=小中学校をオートロックに... 戸田市「最善を」刺傷事件の美笹中はすでに対応 来年度中に市立17校も完了へ|website=Saitama Shimbun|date=November 14, 2023|access-date=September 8, 2025|language=ja}}</ref>
* Upgrading perimeter fences and expanding surveillance camera coverage.<ref name="toda_city_response_20230330" />
* Equipping schools with emergency alert systems and providing staff training on defensive equipment like the ''sasumata'' (さすまた).<ref name="toda_city_response_20230330" />

The injured teacher has advocated for improved institutional support for school staff who become victims of crime.<ref name="victim_advocacy_20240713">{{cite web|url=https://go2senkyo.com/seijika/75891/posts/843488|title=命を賭けて生徒を守る教師にサポート体制を!! 【埼玉県南部戸田市 美笹中ナイフ事件】|website=選挙ドットコム|date=July 13, 2024|access-date=September 8, 2025|language=ja}}</ref>

== References ==
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