Japan News: Gunman takes post office employees hostage after injuring two others in Warabi hospital

livemint.com:

Reuters reported that the gunman had wounded two other people in a shooting at a hospital The Japanese police surrounded a post office, and said the case may be linked to an earlier apparent shooting at a nearby hospital in which two people were wounded. One post office employee is still believed to be inside the building, according to AP. Warabi, is situated North of Tokyo, the capital city of Japan.

Warabi government has said in a statement an undetermined number of hostages were taken by a man "in possession of something like a handgun". At least two female post office workers in their 20s and 30s were taken hostage, local media reported. A woman in her 20s later walked out of the building into police custody, Reuters reports.

Hundreds of police were reportedly mobilized to surround the building housing the post office. Television footage showed police officers wearing bulletproof vests squatting behind the doors of a patrol vehicle parked outside. TV also showed the suspect — an older-looking man wearing a cap and holding a gun — briefly showing up at the entrance.

Earlier Tuesday, Saitama Prefectural Police said two men — a doctor in his 40s and a patient in his 60s — were wounded after blasts resembling gunfire were heard outside of a general hospital in the city of Toda, just north of Tokyo. The victims are both conscious and their wounds are not life-threatening, police said. Kyodo News agency said the two were believed to be inside a consultation room on the first floor when they were attacked, and that cracks were found in the window.