Late at night on February 14, three 17-year-old boys were stabbed at a commercial building in Osaka’s Minami entertainment district.

A passerby called the police at about 11:50 p.m., saying someone had been stabbed.

The perpetrator fled the scene, located near the Dotonbori River, which is a popular tourist destination.

S/ Witness / Everyone was screaming and running around in panic. I saw one person lying on the ground and another receiving chest compressions.

Police said one of the teenagers died, another remains unconscious and in critical condition, and the third has sustained serious injuries.

The fatal victim had multiple stab wounds, including to his chest.

At around 10 a.m. on February 15, police arrested a 21-year-old man on suspicion of killing the victim.

The suspect was found walking with a knife on a street about 1.5 kilometers from the crime scene.

He told police he had a dispute with the victims just before the incident but denied some of the allegations, saying he had no intent to kill.

The suspect is believed to have known the boys.

According to investigative sources, the arrested man had been bothering their female acquaintance, which led to an argument between him and the boys.

The sources said he told the police he only intended to intimidate the teens with the knife at first but stabbed them in the chest area because they came toward him.