A man, surnamed Hung (洪), yesterday stabbed and injured two people on a Taichung MRT train before passengers stopped him, police said.
The knifeman put his bag down, pulled out a knife and attacked the man closest to him, a witness said.
A video uploaded to social media showed a 27-year-old man surnamed Hsu (許) charging Hung. Hsu and Hung wrestled and Hsu was wounded before Hung lost his grip on the knife, but as Hung bent down to take another knife out of his bag, Hsu tackled him to the ground.
Photo: CNA
Other passengers then rushed to stop him, with some hitting him on the head and one person prying open his hand to take the knife away, the witness said.
The Taichung City Government Fire Bureau said they received a report that people were wounded at Taichung City Hall Station at 11:17am and dispatched several ambulances.
Three people were injured, including the alleged attacker, the bureau said.
A 17-year-old surnamed Lu (呂) had lacerations on his chest, shoulder and arm, while Hsu had a 15cm gash stretching from his cheek to his jaw, the bureau said, adding that Hung sustained wounds on his fingers.
The suspect was taken to hospital and placed under police surveillance, the Taichung City Police Department’s Sixth Precinct said in a statement.
One kitchen knife and two fruit knives were recovered from the scene, the precinct said.
The Taichung City Government would pay the medical bills of the two wounded city residents, Taichung Mayor Lu Shiow-yen (盧秀燕) said after visiting the hospital where they were being treated.
Hung lives in Kaohsiung where he studies nursing at a vocational college, a Sixth Precinct spokesperson said.
He traveled to Taichung and checked in at a motel in Situn District (西屯) on Monday, they said.
Police handed the case over to the Taichung District Prosecutors’ Office, recommending that Hung be charged with attempted murder, the spokesperson said.
Hung’s father, who was on his way to Taichung after being contacted by authorities, said his son “has made a terrible mistake” and must take responsibility.
Hung was known to the Kaohsiung Department of Health as a person with a history of mental illness, but his motives for the alleged attack were not yet known, Taichung Police Commissioner Lee Wen-chang (李文章) said.
Hung’s school said that he took a leave of absence from a nursing internship in April reportedly to deal with stress.
Meanwhile, Taichung City Councilor Huang Hsin-hui (黃馨慧) asked why passengers did not receive a response after pressing the emergency button.
Taichung Mass Rapid Transit Corp (臺中捷運) chairman Yen Pang-chieh (顏邦傑) said the MRT control center registered two calls made at 11:14am and 11:15am and tried to contact the passengers via microphone, but no one responded.
This was likely due to the chaos in the car as the passengers were fending for their lives, he said, adding that staff could see what was happening because of security cameras in the carriage and contacted the police according to procedure.
People who are under attack should use objects at hand to protect their vital organs, including umbrellas and backpacks, or wrap a jacket or belt around their arms for defense, Taichung police said.
People should keep calm and back away sideways from the assailant to avoid slipping, they said.
People are urged to avoid fighting an armed assailant unless there is no other alternative, they added.
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