BRUTAL

Three Dead in Samurai Sword Attack on Tokyo Shrine

Local media reports say a family feud is behind the gruesome slaying.

The head priest of a famous Tokyo shrine was killed by a man wielding a samurai sword in a brutal attack that left two others dead Thursday night, authorities said. The attacker, identified by police as 56-year-old Shigenaga Tomioka, was identified in local media reports as the younger brother of his alleged victim, 58-year-old Nagako Tomioka, the head priest of the Tomioka Hachimangu shrine. Police say Shigenaga Tomioka took his own life after allegedly killing both the priest and a female accomplice with whom he’d arrived at the shrine. A driver was also injured in the attack but suffered non-life-threatening injuries, according to police. The motive for the killings was not immediately clear but local media reports suggest it stemmed from a family feud.