- 14 Mar 2002
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It's rare for the Japanese police to use their firearms; it's even rarer for them to employ deadly force. And cars also don't get stolen often.
The car had been reported stolen outside the prefecture. About three minutes before the shooting, the two police officers from the Yao Police Station on patrol spotted the vehicle on the streets of Hirano Ward, Osaka city. They initially lost sight of it but caught up with the car about 1.6 kilometres away and gave chase with a flashing red light and a siren. Ishibashi, finding himself forced to stop behind a truck at a traffic signal, slammed the car into reverse, ramming the police vehicle. The police officers warned him they would shoot him if he did not get out.
At around 1:20 p.m. on 13 January, a police officer fired shots and injured a person on the street in Yao City, Osaka Prefecture. According to the city's fire department, a man believed to be in his 40s was shot in the abdomen and taken to hospital in cardiopulmonary arrest but was later confirmed dead. A police car pursuing a white car was seen on nearby security footage just before the shooting.
