Three people, including two police officers, have been killed in Nagano in central Japan this morning, with a suspect armed with a rifle and knife holed up inside a building, according to police and media reports. A witness told NHK public television that a woman fell while being chased by the suspect, who then stabbed her with a knife and shot at two police officers as they arrived at the scene in Nakano city in the prefecture of Nagano.

According to Kyodo News, the witness asked him: “Why would you do such a thing?” with the perpetrator replying: I killed her because I wanted to.”

The three were taken to a nearby hospital, where the woman was later pronounced dead, police said.

The two police officers also died later, according to NHK.

A fourth person who was injured could not be rescued because he was near where the suspect was holed up.

Television footage on NHK showed uniformed police wearing bulletproof vests and carrying shields with an ambulance nearby.

Pictures also showed police cars racing to the scene.

Another witness said: “I heard sirens from ambulances and police cars.

“There was an announcement via a loudspeaker calling on people to stay indoors because there was a shotgun shooting.”

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Police described the suspect as a man wearing a camouflage outfit, a hat, a mask and sunglasses, Kyodo News said.

City officials have urged those in the area to stay home.

No other details, including about the suspect and his motives, were immediately known.

Gun violence is rare in Japan, which has one of the lowest gun crime rates in the world as a result of extremely strict laws relating to firearms control.

In 2018, just nine deaths from firearms were reported compared with 39,740 in the United States, data published by the Sydney School of Public Health at the University of Sydney revealed.

However, in recent years, there have been some high-profile cases involving random knifings on subways and arson attacks, and there is growing concern about homemade guns and explosives.

The nation was shocked last year when Shinzo Abe, the country’s longest-serving prime minister, was shot dead during a campaign speech in Nara.

Even in that instance however, the attacker used a handmade gun.