Knife attacker of mass murder in Japan tests positive for marijuana

The alleged assailant of a fatal knife attack last month at a care facility for disabled people near Tokyo tested positive for marijuana in a urine test, local media reported on Monday.

Police are investigating whether the 26-year-old suspect named as Satoshi Uematsu was under the influence of the illegal drug during the attack which left 19 people dead and 27 injured, investigative sources was quoted by Kyodo News as saying.

Uematsu originally refused to provide his urine and the test did not show positive reactions for stimulant drugs, said the sources.

Marijuana was found in a search of Uematsu's home conducted by the police last month.

The knife attack took place in early morning of July 26 at the Tsukui Yamayuri En facility (Tsukui Lily Garden) in eastern Japan's Kanagawa prefecture, about 50 km west from downtown Tokyo.

Uematsu, former worker of the facility from December 2012 to February this year, is suspected of stabbing residents with knives at the facility after breaking a window with a hammer and entering from the ground floor.

He was reportedly sent letters to a lower house member of parliament in February threatening to kill many people with intellectual disabilities. After that, he was committed to a mental hospital in February, but was released in early March.

He also tested positive for marijuana during his hospitalization in February and was diagnosed as suffering from marijuana-induced psychosis. Endit