A Ground Self-Defense Force recruit was referred to prosecutors Thursday on suspicion of murder a day after shooting three of his instructors during a live-fire training exercise in central Japan, killing two of them.
The incident occurred during an indoor exercise at a firing range in Gifu on Wednesday morning. Investigative sources said the 18-year-old recruit told police he opened fire after being admonished by a 52-year-old instructor, and that he was only targeting one of the three men who were shot.
According to the GSDF, the shooting appears to have occurred shortly after the assault rifle firing exercise began. Prefectural and GSDF police forces are continuing to investigate the details of the case.
The shooting occurred at around 9:10 a.m. on Wednesday and the 52-year-old and a 25-year-old later died at a hospital, while another instructor was wounded in his left leg, according to the GSDF.
The police said the recruit has denied intentionally killing the 25-year-old instructor, saying he fired at him because he tried to intervene.
The recruit was initially arrested at the scene on suspicion of attempted murder, with the police later upgrading the charge to murder. He was sent to the prosecutors on a charge related to the shooting of the 25-year-old.
The training session involved approximately 120 personnel, including some 70 recruits, according to the GSDF, and was planned to start with a safety training component at around 8 a.m. The live shooting section was scheduled to start at about 9 a.m.
In a press conference on the day of the shooting, Gen. Yasunori Morishita, chief of staff of the GSDF, said the trainee joined the GSDF in April and belonged to the same regiment as the three senior personnel in charge of training.
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Recruit fatally shoots 2 SDF instructors, hurts 1 at Japan gun range
