Taipei Knife And Smoke Bomb Attack Leaves Three Dead

Taipei Knife And Smoke Bomb Attack Leaves Three Dead

 

At least three people were killed and 11 others injured after a knife-wielding attacker launched a coordinated assault involving smoke bombs across central Taipei on Friday, authorities said.

 

The suspect, identified as 27-year-old Chang Wen, began the attack near an underground exit at Taipei Main Metro Station, where he allegedly threw smoke grenades and stabbed passers-by in what officials described as a “deliberate act.” Video aired by Taiwanese media showed a man dressed in black and wearing a gas mask deploying smoke bombs inside the busy transit hub.

 

Chang then moved north toward the Zhongshan shopping district, where he continued the attack inside a department store, throwing smoke grenades and stabbing people on multiple floors, including the first and fourth levels, according to police and local news reports.

 

A 57-year-old man who attempted to intervene near the metro station exit was fatally wounded. Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an said the victim suffered a severe penetrating injury that passed from the right lung to the left atrium. Another man later died after being attacked near the department store.

 

Witnesses described scenes of panic and confusion as shoppers fled through smoke-filled corridors. One injured woman said she initially thought she had been struck, not slashed, before realizing she was bleeding and seeing others collapsed on the ground.

The rampage ended when the suspect fell to his death from the sixth floor of the department store during a police chase, Taiwan’s national news agency reported.

 

Authorities said Chang had a prior criminal record and outstanding warrants, including for violating Taiwan’s mandatory military service laws. Investigators recovered multiple “lethal weapons” from his rental apartment in Taipei and from a nearby hotel room where he had stayed for several nights.

 

Police are continuing to investigate the motive and whether the attack involved any additional accomplices or ideological factors.

Of the 11 injured, six remain hospitalized, including two in intensive care.

 

Key Takeaways

• A knife and smoke bomb attack across central Taipei killed three people.

• The suspect died after falling from a department store during a police chase.

• Authorities say the attack was deliberate; motive remains under investigation.