Taiwan steps up police patrols after fatal mass stabbing in Taipei Metro
Three people killed in attack that police say was carried out by a 27-year-old man acting alone
Taiwanese authorities have ordered a stronger police presence in crowded public areas after a rare mass stabbing in central Taipei left three people dead and 11 wounded.
Police said on Saturday that Friday night’s attack during which the suspected assailant exploded smoke and petrol bombs before going on a violent rampage in two subway stations was not terrorism and that he had acted alone.
They said the suspect – 27-year-old Chang Wen – threw smoke grenades into the Taipei Main Metro station, fatally stabbed one person, then ran to nearby Zhongshan station, where he continued his stabbing spree.
The attacker also died after he jumped off a building in an apparent attempt to escape.
Two of the wounded remained in intensive care while five others had been discharged, health authorities said on Saturday.
“Based on relevant verification work carried out continuously since yesterday, we have not found that the suspect had any accomplices,” Central News Agency quoted Chang Jung-hsin, the island’s police chief, as saying.