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At least three killed by knife-wielding man in Taiwan
At least three people were killed and 11 others injured after a man, wielding a knife and smoke bombs, went on an attacking spree in Taipei on Friday, police said.
The suspect later fell to death from the sixth floor of a department store building during a police chase, according to Taiwan’s national news agency.
Authorities said the suspect, identified as a 27-year-old man named Chang Wen, threw smoke granades near the underground exit of the Taipei main metro station and attacked people on the way to the next Zhongshan station in “a deliberate act”.
Video footage aired on local Taiwanese news networks shows the suspect, wearing a gas mask and clad in black, dropping at least two smoke grenades at the Taipei Main metro station.
He then went north to a popular shopping district, throwing smoke grenades and stabbing people on the first and fourth floors of a department store, according to local news reports.
A 57-year-old man tried to stop the attacker at the metro station’s exit but was fatally wounded, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an told local media.
The wound was “a penetrating injury about five centimetres in length caused by a sharp object that reached from the right lung to the left atrium”, local media reported, citing the National Taiwan University Hospital.
Another man attacked near the department store also reportedly died.
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A survivor said she was hit by the suspect outside the department store.
“It did not feel like a slash – it felt more like being hit. Then it really hurt,” she said, adding that when she turned around, she saw “people lying on the ground and needing first aid because they were bleeding”.
Police are investigating possible motives.
The attacker reportedly had a prior criminal record and outstanding warrants.
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“It appears he deliberately threw smoke bombs and wielded a long knife to carry out indiscriminate attacks on the public,” Taiwan’s premier Cho Jung-tai said.
Investigators recovered “lethal weapons” at the suspect’s rental home in Taipei and at the hotel room where he stayed for three nights near Zhongshan, the Associated Press reported.
He was also wanted for violating the law on mandatory military service, according to local news reports.
“We will investigate his background and associated relationships to understand his motives and determine if there are other connected factors,” the premier said.
Of the 11 injured, six reportedly remain in hospitals, with two in intensive care.
