Photo/Illutration The McDonald’s outlet in Kita-Kyushu, where two junior high school students were stabbed, on Dec. 14 (Hiroki Okitsu)

KITA-KYUSHU--A 15-year-old girl died and her male schoolmate was injured after they were stabbed by a stranger at a McDonald’s outlet here on the night of Dec. 14.

The suspect, a man of medium build aged around 40, is still at large, Fukuoka prefectural police said Dec. 15.

The victim was identified as Saaya Nakashima, a third-year junior high school student in Kita-Kyushu, a city in northern Fukuoka Prefecture.

The teenagers were attacked while they were waiting in a checkout line at the restaurant in the city’s Kokura-Minami Ward around 8:30 p.m.

The suspect arrived at the outlet after the pair and left in less than a minute, police said.

The students were rushed to a local hospital. Nakashima, who was stabbed just once around her abdomen, was confirmed dead about one hour and 40 minutes later.

Her schoolmate, who was also stabbed just once around his lower back, is conscious. His injury is not life-threatening, police said.

He told police the assailant was unknown to him.

The suspect was described as having brown hair and about 170 centimeters tall. He was wearing a gray shirt, black trousers and yellowish shoes.

The city’s board of education on Dec. 15 canceled all extracurricular activities and other events at municipal schools. 

It also asked parents to avoid unnecessary outings and not let children venture out alone. 

The McDonald’s outlet is located along a national road and surrounded by homes and other restaurants.

It is about 300 meters southwest of Tokuriki Kodan-mae Station on the Kita-Kyushu Monorail line.

(This article was written by Yuta Torio and Hiroki Okitsu.)

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