Three men suspected of having injured and robbed two 75-year-old women in Tochigi Prefecture, Japan, have been arrested following a police chase that ended with the three men being captured by police after they ran into a bear in the woods of a Nikko City mountain.
On the afternoon of May 23, at about 2:50 p.m., the three men, all from the Fukuoka city of Kitakyushu and ranging in ages from 18 to 22, allegedly assaulted two 75-year-old women in their residence located near the Tochigi Prefectural Police Department in Utsunomiya City and stole various items of value from their residence, including approximately 6.6 million JPY (59,281 USD) in precious gems that they found in a safe. After the robbery, the three men fled the scene and drove approximately 50 kilometers west to the city of Nikko.
According to sources close to the investigation, in Nikko the suspects attempted to lose a police helicopter that was following them by abandoning their car in a tunnel located along a highway and running into the woods of a nearby mountain.
In the woods over 20 police officers continued to pursue the suspects, finally capturing them after the suspects encountered a bear and found themselves surrounded by the bear on one side and police on the other.
After being taken into custody the suspects were taken back to Utsunomiya City where they were arrested that same day on suspicion of aggravated robbery.
Police are currently trying to uncover the exact details surrounding this incident and the events that led up to the robbery.
Reports have yet to reveal the extent of the injuries sustained by the two victims.
As for the bear, it appears that it is fine and still in the woods of Nikko.
Reactions
After this news broke plenty of Japanese people took to the internet to react. Some examples of their comments can be found below.
“That’s some distinguished service on the part of the bear.”
“It’s like something you’d expect to see in a comic book, but it actually happened.”
“That’s one of those ‘caught between a rock and a hard place’ type situations.”
“Getting arrested is better than getting killed by a bear, right?”
Source: Yahoo News Japan (May 27), Breaking News Japa (May 27)
Image: Pixabay
