Taiwan attacker planned assault left 4 dead
發佈日期: 2025-12-20 20:10
TVB News
In Taiwan, the island remains on edge after the knife and smoke-bomb attacks near the Taipei Main Metro Station and Zhongshan Station on Friday.
Four people died, including passers-by and the suspect, identified as a 27-year-old man named Chang Wen. 11 others were injured.
The police's preliminary investigation suggests that the assaults were premeditated.
At Exit M8 of Taipei Main Station, some citizens laid flowers in the morning to mourn the victims.
Armed police officers could be seen patrolling the station area.
The attack happened on Friday evening, when a man hurled smoke bombs inside Taipei Main Station and slashed a male passer-by who tried to stop him.
About an hour later, he moved to the Eslite Spectrum Nanxi store in Zhongshan District where he again cast smoke bombs, and slashed a motorcyclist, before entering the Eslite shopping mall to attack others.
The suspect later fell from the department store building and died.
Police investigation found that about two hours before the incident, the suspect repeatedly set fire on the streets, damaging five cars and a restaurant.
The police believe the acts failed to attract attention, prompting him to escalate the violence to target Taipei Main Station.
After the first attack at Taipei Main Station, the suspect returned to a nearby hotel and stayed there for half an hour before going out again to carry out the second assault.
Local police said the 27-year-old suspect Chang Wen had been wanted by authorities since July after failing to report to military service.
Reportedly, he had voluntarily served in the military but was fired for drunk driving.
After the incident, the police searched his residences in Taoyuan and Taipei City. In one of his places, authorities found materials for making petrol bombs.
The suspect was said to have rented an apartment in Taipei City since January. Based on multiple other leads, he began planning the attack as early as mid-year.
Taiwan police say at this stage, they are still unable to clearly determine the motive and they only know that he had a plan to carry out the attack with no evidence of any accomplices so far.
Taiwan authorities have ordered a thorough investigation into the suspect's motive and stepped up police presence in public places and crowded areas.
