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EPA\/Shutterstock<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\nAt least three people have been killed and nine others injured as a knife-wielding attacker \u200dwent \u200don a \u200brampage in the Taiwanese capital Taipei.<\/p>\n
The 27-year-old suspect set off smoke bombs at Taipei’s main metro station, before running to another station in a busy shopping district, stabbing people along the way, Taiwanese Premier Cho Jung-tai said. <\/p>\n
The suspect, named by officials as Taiwanese man Chang Wen, later died after falling from a multi-storey building, Cho added. His motive remains unclear.<\/p>\n
Attacks of this kind are rare in Taiwan, which has low rates of violent crime. The last time a similar incident struck Taipei was more than a decade ago in 2014.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Friday’s attack took place at about 17:20 local time (09:20 GMT) <\/b>during the city’s evening rush hour.<\/p>\n
Videos shared on social media show people fleeing the scene in panic as an individual wearing a baseball cap and black clothing <\/b>lobs smoke bombs across a busy road.<\/p>\n
He can then be seen carrying a large knife as he walks past several cars. <\/p>\n
Cho said the suspect had detonated smoke bombs and Molotov cocktails at Taipei’s Main Station, which is connected to a busy underground shopping street. <\/p>\n
A man reportedly tried to stop the attacker but was struck with a blunt object and later died in hospital.<\/p>\n
The suspect then fled through an underground shopping centre to the nearby Zhongshan Station, about a 800m walk away. <\/p>\n
After a detour to his hotel, where he picked up a weapon, he ran back to the street outside Zhongshan Station and set off further smoke bombs. He also stabbed more people.<\/p>\n
The attacker went into a nearby bookshop and department store, but fell from the building after police surrounded him. He died shortly after in hospital.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Cho said he <\/b>had ordered increased security at metro and railway stations, as well as airports, in response to the attack.<\/p>\n “We will \u200cinvestigate [the suspect’s] background and associated relationships to understand his motives and \u200ddetermine \u200cif there are other connected factors,” the Taiwanese premier <\/b>was quoted by news agency Reuters as saying. <\/p>\n Taiwan’s President William Lai also promised a swift investigation. <\/p>\n The suspect had a criminal record and was wanted by the authorities, according to local media reports.<\/p>\n The last major incident of this kind, in 2014, saw a man kill four people on an underground train in Taipei, shocking people in Taiwan. The perpetrator of that attack was executed two years later.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n![](\"https:\/\/static.files.bbci.co.uk\/bbcdotcom\/web\/20251210-151139-37baf2dfdd-web-2.36.1-1\/grey-placeholder.png\")
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