Photo/Illutration The park bench in Saitama city where cat legs were found (Emiko Arimoto)

SAITAMA—Body parts of dismembered cats have been left at parks and school grounds here, prompting police and parents to beef up patrols in the area.

Saitama prefectural police know of at least five cases of cat parts being found near the Arakawa river in this city north of Tokyo.

Teachers are instructing students to go straight home and in groups after school, and to report any suspicious activities.

The first discovery was reported on Feb. 13.

Around 8 a.m., the management office of Arakawa Saiko Park in Saitama’s Minami Ward found what were later confirmed to be the two front legs of a white cat left on a park bench. A police officer from the Urawa Police Station rushed to the scene.

Three days later, an employee of the same park found the body of a white cat missing its hind legs and jaw in a wooded area about 200 meters from the first discovery site. The finding was also reported to police.

The following day, a cat body part was found tied with a string to a horizontal bar on the grounds of an elementary school about 800 meters away.

In all three cases, the fur was white.

The gruesome discoveries continued.

On Feb. 26 at about 7:30 a.m., the body of a cat missing its head and legs was dug up from a garden in Sakura Ward.

At around 5 p.m. the same day, the head and front legs of a cat were found on a road near the Arakawa river. The fur of the cat was spotted black and brown.

Prefectural police have opened an investigation for suspected violations of the animal welfare law.

They have intensified patrols near parks and schools because they fear additional crimes will occur or could escalate. They are also checking security camera footage and looking for any eyewitnesses.

A 58-year-old woman who lives near Arakawa Saiko Park has been patrolling the neighborhood while taking her dog out for a walk. Her daughter attends a nearby junior high school.

“Many elementary school students play in the park,” the woman said. “If residents show they are keeping an eye out, it might help prevent further crimes.”

She added that she hoped police strengthened their patrols to catch the culprit.

A woman in her 30s with a child attending an elementary school near the park has been taking turns with other parents to escort children to and from school.

“I hope police will patrol narrow lanes from evening until late at night,” she said.

A woman in her 40s with a child at the same elementary school has been patrolling the area as part of PTA activities. She has forbidden her child from going to the park.

Staff at the elementary school near where cat parts were found in Sakura Ward patrolled the area on Feb. 27. The school has strengthened its instructions to students when going home after classes.

The Saitama city board of education has also asked parents of children at nearby elementary schools to take extra caution.

(This article was written by Emiko Arimoto, Shuichi Nimura and Tomoki Morishita.)

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