A man believed to be a bodyguard for a senior yakuza figure was shot dead in Kobe City, western Japan, on Tuesday. Police are searching for the assailant, who fled possibly carrying a gun.
Police say the victim, a man in his 40s, was shot in the head on the street in Nagata Ward shortly after 10 AM. He was traveling in a convoy of a few vehicles, when a black car struck the one he was in. He was reportedly shot by a man in the black car when he got out of his vehicle.
The shooting took place close to the home of a senior member of a newly formed yakuza group that broke away from the Kobe Yamaguchi-gumi. The police believe the victim is this man’s bodyguard.
Investigators suspect the assault stemmed from problems between the rival groups.
The spot where the incident occurred is in a residential area with schools nearby and some 200 meters from a subway station.
Source and image: NHK
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