Two people have died and 16 others, including more than a dozen schoolgirls, have been injured after a man armed with knives went on a rampage at a crowded bus stop near Tokyo on Tuesday morning.

Japanese media said Hanako Kuribayashi, an 11-year-old girl, and 39-year-old Satoshi Oyama, a foreign ministry official, had died in hospital after being stabbed in the neck.

The attacker, a 57-year-old man whose name has not been released, also died after reportedly stabbing himself in the neck following the attack near a park in the city of Kawasaki, south of the capital.

It was not clear if police had established a motive before he died.

The national broadcaster NHK quoted witnesses as saying the suspect had been holding a knife in each hand and had begun stabbing his victims as they waited to board a bus. Kyodo news agency said the suspect, who had short hair and was wearing glasses, had shouted that he was “going to kill” the children.

Two girls and a woman in her 40s are being treated for serious injuries, Kyodo said.

The prime minister, Shinzo Abe, voiced anger over the attack and asked his education minister to ensure that children were safe when travelling to and from school.

“It was an extremely harrowing incident in which many small children were the victims, and I am outraged,” Abe said. “I will take all possible measures to keep children safe.”

The 13 injured children, believed to be girls aged from six to 12, are reportedly pupils at Caritas, a local Catholic school. Oyama was reportedly the father of a pupil at the school.

Donald Trump, on the final day of a state visit to Japan, said he and the first lady, Melania, sent their “prayers and sympathy” to the victims. “All Americans stand with the people of Japan and grieve for the victims and for their families,” Trump said during a visit to a naval base near Tokyo.

The Guardian