Matsumoto incident 855926 218529308 2008-06-11T01:24:31Z OhanaUnited 1792248 add info regarding Kouno The '''Matsumoto incident''' was an occurrence of [[sarin]] poisoning that happened in [[Matsumoto, Nagano|Matsumoto]], [[Japan]], in [[Nagano prefecture]], on the evening of [[June 27]] and the morning of [[June 28]], [[1994]]. Seven people were killed and over 200 were harmed by sarin [[gas]] that was released from several sites in the [[Kaichi Heights]] neighborhood. The first calls to emergency officials occurred around 11:00 p.m.; by 4:15 a.m. the following morning, six people had died from the poison. On [[July 3]], officials announced that the toxic agent had been identified as sarin by [[GC/MS]]. After the incident, police focused their investigation on one of the victims, [[Yoshiyuki Kouno]], when they discovered that Kouno had stored a large amount of pesticide in his residence. Kouno was dubbed by the media "the Poison Gas Man" and received hate mail, death threats, and intense legal pressure. After the [[Sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway|attack on the Tokyo subway]] in [[1995]], the blame was shifted to the cult [[Aum Shinrikyo]]. Police chief, on behalf of the police department, and media publicly apologized to Kouno. The Matsumoto incident preceded the better-known [[Sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway|attack on the Tokyo subway]] in [[1995]]. Several [[Aum Shinrikyo]] members were found guilty of masterminding both incidents. Combined, the attacks resulted in 19 deaths and thousands of hospitalizations or outpatient treatment. == See also == {{Aum Shinrikyo}} [[Category:Aum Shinrikyo]] [[Category:Terrorist incidents in 1994]] [[Category:Chemical warfare]] [[Category:1994 in Japan]] {{Japan-hist-stub}} {{paramilitary-action-stub}} [[ja:松本サリン事件]] [[zh:松本沙林毒氣事件]]