Tokyo, July 29 : Three members of a family were killed in an apparent stabbing incident in central Japan's Shizuoka prefecture, the local media reported.

At around 2:25 p.m. local time on Sunday, the police received a report that a man was running wild at the house located in a residential area in the city of Kikugawa, and officers rushed to the scene, Jiji Press reported.

The report said that the three, Shoichi Shibuya, 87, his wife Ikuko, 81, and their daughter Rumiko, 52, were found lying with what appeared to be stab wounds and were confirmed dead after being taken to hospital, Xinhua news agency reported.

A man in his 20s, believed to be a relative of the victims, is on the run and the police are trying to arrest him on suspicion of murder, it added.

According to the Shizuoka prefectural police, a knife was found at the scene.

/IANS