Blood stains are seen where a teenager was arrested for hitting a 4-year-old boy with a hammer in Higashi-Osaka, Osaka Prefecture.

Police believe the 17-year-old, arrested April 21, has been chronically depressed since he failed the entrance examination for a high school he was keen to attend two years ago.

The teen hit Shota Nishizu at a park in Higashi-Osaka April 21, fracturing his skull. Although the boy's injuries were serious, he was not in critical condition, doctors said.

In addition to carrying the hammer, the teen was carrying a butcher's knife, a kitchen knife, a stun gun and an ice pick.

"I wanted to kill someone," the 17-year-old was quoted as telling the police. "It didn't matter who, except for old people."

The Japan Times Weekly: April 30, 2005
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