Disgruntled radiographer arrested after driving car through crowd of children

A radiographer has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after he drove his car into a crowd of children last week. 

Yuki Yazawa, 28, is said to have been behind the wheel of a vehicle that drove into a group of second and third graders on their way home from school in Osaka, Japan, last week. All students survived the attack, though seven were injured—one severely and five moderately.  

Local reports indicate that Yazawa was in a fragile mental state at the time and had recently abruptly (and voluntarily) resigned from his job as a radiographer the month prior. He allegedly revealed to police that his actions were intentional, and the crime scene did not reveal any brake marks, indicating that he never attempted to slow down. 

Yazawa rented the sports utility vehicle last Tuesday. He was directed to return the vehicle by 8 a.m. Thursday but did not show up at the car rental station. That same day, he used it to commit the assault. 

"I was fed up with everything, so I tried to kill elementary school children by ramming my car into them,” Yazawa told authorities, according to the Japan Times. 

It is unclear what his specific motive is, although he indicated that he was harboring negative sentiments toward people who he believed were not facing hardships in life.