Photographer Charged With Entering Murder Suspect’s Home During 12-Hr Police Standoff

A photographer has been accused of trespassing into a murder suspect’s home as he barricaded himself inside the property during a 12-hour standoff with cops.

On May 25, 2023, Masanori Aoki was arrested for killing four people in a rare shooting and stabbing attack that sent shockwaves through Japan — where gun violence is extremely rare.

Aoki, the 32-year-old son of a Japanese politician, first reportedly chased and stabbed a woman in the city of Nakano.

He then allegedly shot two police officers who responded to the emergency. Another woman was also later found dead near Aoki’s home.

According to reports, Aoki then barricaded himself inside his family home, where his mother and aunt were present, after murdering the two cops.

12 hours later, after an intense standoff with police, Aoki emerged from the house in the early hours of May 26 and surrendered before being arrested for murder.

A Photographer Accused of Trespassing During The Standoff

Now, a photographer has been accused by police of trespassing onto the grounds of Aoki’s home as he barricaded himself inside the family property during the 12-hour standoff with police.

According to The Japan Times, the unnamed 53-year-old male photographer was working as a photojournalist for major Japanese newspaper Asahi Shimbun at the time.

The photographer, who was charged by Nagano Prefectural Police on Tuesday, has reportedly claimed that he entered the property without knowing it was the murder suspect’s home.

However, police had reportedly sealed off a 330-yard radius around Aoki’s home and urged neighbors of the murder suspect to remain indoors or take shelter at an evacuation center during the standoff with cops.

Nagano Prefectural Police first sent the case to prosecutors in June last year but the photographer has only been charged now. They have recommended “severe punishment” for the photographer’s crime of trespassing into the property.

The Japan Times reports that the public relations department for Japanese newspaper Asahi Shimbun has issued an apology for the photographer’s conduct and promised to deal with their “former” employee strictly.

“We take the criminal punishment seriously and sincerely apologize once again to all parties involved,” the newspaper says in a statement.

“We intend to deal strictly with the employee in question.”