2008Jun, 8
At least seven people are killed and ten injured in a stabbing spree in Tokyo, Japan.
The Akihabara massacre (Japanese: 秋葉原通り魔事件, Hepburn: Akihabara Tōrima Jiken) was an incident of mass murder that took place on 8 June 2008, in the Akihabara shopping quarter in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. The perpetrator, 25-year-old Tomohiro Katō (加藤 智大, Katō Tomohiro) of Susono, Shizuoka Prefecture, drove into a crowd with a rented truck, initially killing three people and injuring two; he then stabbed at least twelve people using a dagger, killing four other people and injuring eight.The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department arrested Katō on suspicion of attempted murder, holding him at Manseibashi police station. Two days later on 10 June, he was sent to the Tokyo District Public Prosecutor's Office. He was later re-arrested by the police on 20 June on suspicion of murder. Katō was sentenced to death by the Tokyo District Court in 2011; the sentence was upheld on appeal in 2015.
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Events on 2008
- 11Jun
Canadian Indian residential school system
Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper makes a historic official apology to Canada's First Nations in regard to abuses at a Canadian Indian residential school. - 7Aug
South Ossetia
The start of the Russo-Georgian War over the territory of South Ossetia. - 29Sep
Dow Jones Industrial Average
Following the bankruptcies of Lehman Brothers and Washington Mutual, The Dow Jones Industrial Average falls 777.68 points, the largest single-day point loss in its history. - 29Oct
Northwest Airlines
Delta Air Lines merges with Northwest Airlines, creating the world's largest airline and reducing the number of US legacy carriers to five. - 10Nov
Phoenix (spacecraft)
Over five months after landing on Mars, NASA declares the Phoenix mission concluded after communications with the lander were lost.