A 79-year-old woman slashed two women with a fruit knife near a crowded Tokyo railway station because she wanted police help after running away from a shelter for homeless people, the police said.

The victims, in their 20s, were only slightly injured in the attack yesterday night in a crowded shopping and entertainment district of the city. The elderly woman was arrested from the scene, a spokesman at the Shibuya police station said.

"I ran away from a shelter earlier this week and I don't have money. I thought if I caused an incident, the police would take care of me," the spokesman quoted the woman as telling investigators.

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