FUKUOKA (Kyodo) -- A 43-year-old man arrested over the stabbing of a boy at a McDonald's restaurant in southwestern Japan last month was newly charged on Thursday with the murder of a 15-year-old girl who was also a victim of the attack, police said.

Masanori Hirabaru was served a fresh arrest warrant for allegedly fatally stabbing Saaya Nakashima on Dec. 14, 2024, at the fast-food restaurant in Kitakyushu in Fukuoka Prefecture while she was waiting to be served along with the 15-year-old boy, they said.

Hirabaru, who lived near the restaurant, was first arrested on Dec. 19 on suspicion of attempted murder of the boy, who went to the same school as the girl. The boy sustained severe injuries and was temporarily hospitalized.

Hirabaru denied allegations of murdering Nakashima but admitted to stabbing the boy, claiming he had no intention to kill, according to Fukuoka prefectural police.

Despite it being unlikely that Hirabaru and the two students knew each other, the police said he targeted the pair for a specific reason, and the attacks were not random, adding that the victims are "not at fault."

The police confiscated several dozen knives after searching Hirabaru's house and a vehicle and detected the blood of two people on one of them, which analysis showed was not inconsistent with those of Nakashima and the boy, they said.