On May 21, a stabbing incident took place at the Taichung Mass Rapid Transit (TMRT) train in Taichung, Taiwan.
Four people were wounded in the attack at around 11:20 AM on Tuesday. Captured on camera was a man in a white shirt and brown jacket wielding a knife.
Bystanders attempted to subdue him despite sustaining injuries along the way. A witness told reporters, “A group of passengers rushed on to press him down, especially holding down his arms and hands which were still holding a fruit knife.”
One was finally able to pin the perpetrator down, with several more helping to hold him against the wall. Other passengers quickly exited the train to safety.
As we were pinning him down, another man pried [the attacker’s] fingers and took away the knife.
— Female Witness
The suspect was a a 20-year-old male with a history of mental health issues. He had traveled from the southern city of Kaohsiung the previous day with his knife, reported mayor Lu Shiow Yen.
Taichung City Police Department Commissioner Lee Wen Chang announced that the man has been arrested and all injured passengers have been transferred to a nearby hospital. The train in which the incident happened is currently sealed off at Taichung City Hall Station.
This random stabbing incident fell on the same day as a similar attack ten years ago. On May 21, 2014, a stabbing attack occurred in the Taipei metro which killed four people and injured 22. The attacker was executed two years later.
Violent acts such as this one are rare in Taiwan, the country that was ranked the 33rd most peaceful state or territory in the 2023 Global Peace Index out of 163 total places worldwide.
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